Missing Out
by OkobojiOddOne
Summary: Their actions in that abandoned hut will lead to something they didn't expect. How will everyone cope with it and what will happen to them when Margaret has to leave? VERY H/M!
1. The Hut

_Author's Note: This is just something I thought of a few nights ago. I hope you like it! Sorry if it's not as good as 'Stuck in the Cove'!_

_Also, for this first chapter, I tried to get the lines as close as possible, but I haven't seen 'Comrades in Arms' in about a month so my memory is foggy! Also, some of this chapter might be a little racy, but I swear it doesn't get worse than that! I'm only a kid, I don't know how to write a scene that's too racy! :-P_

_I also own nothing!_

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**Missing Out**

**By: Cora**

**Chapter 1: The Hut**

"I should warn you," Margaret Houlihan had just wadded her jacket up for a makeshift pillow and was kneeling by it, swinging a piece of wood, "if you come over here at any point during the night, announce yourself. I intend to swing this to kill."

"Goodnight." Hawkeye nodded and blew out the candle on the table. He went over to the other side of the abandoned hut that he and Margaret had taken cover in and laid down. Sleep didn't come easily, but when it had, it didn't feel like it had been there for very long.

The handsome chief surgeon of the 4077 woke up in a panic, hearing Margaret scream. "Will you cut it out?! Who do you think you are, shooting at us like we're animals?! You want us to go crazy, is that what you want? Can't you let us have a couple hours of sleep in peace! Stop it! Stop it! You don't know whether we're Americans or Chinese or Koreans!" She yelled, her voice quavering with fright.

"Margaret!" Hawkeye tried to get her to quiet down, but it wasn't working. "Shh." He wrapped his coat around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid." She was shacking like a leaf and sounded like she was going to start crying.

"Me too, so am I." He hugged her tighter, trying to comfort her.

"I don't like being afraid, it scares me." The scared blond turned a little so she was in Hawkeye's arms some more, but she was still scared. And usually just a glimpse of his eyes would work to calm her down.

"Me too. I'd be a lot braver if I weren't so scared." He knew this wasn't the right time for jokes, but it had just slipped out.

"Please hold me." Margaret's voice was now pure panic.

"I'm holding you." Hawkeye held her closer.

"I can't feel it hold me, hold me!" She ducked her head down so it was under his chin. The poor head nurse was scared to death of what was going on outside of the hut.

"Margaret, I'm holding you. He wrapped his other arm around her and hugged her close, trying to calm her down, but now _he_ was starting to get a little more scared than before.

Pretty soon, another shell hit and things were crumbling off of the wall. "Will you cut it out! You want to kill us!? For crying out loud, cut it out! Just leave us alone!" Hawkeye screamed. Then they were both screaming at the people who where attacking them to stop. Their faces became closer and closer and they stopped yelling, movie back a little to see the other. Hawkeye saw a distinct look of trust and love in the beautiful woman's eyes. She saw caring and warmth in his. As another shell exploded, they came together for a passionate kiss. A couple more moments passed and they pulled apart for only a second or two, making sure the other agreed with what they were doing.

After several minutes, things became more intense…more passionate. Hawkeye had gently pushed Margaret down so she was on her back. He laid on top of her, covering her with kisses. Margaret kissed back with equal passion, seeming to fall more and more in love with the man with every kiss. She started having feelings for him a long time ago, but now she knew that what she felt was true. Her heart ached, however, when she knew that he probably didn't love her as much as she loved him.

Hawkeye started fiddling with the buckle on Margaret's belt. She knew what he was doing, and she was going to let him. She needed him now, and even more with every shell that was exploding outside. "Hawkeye." She whispered, breathlessly. The nurse started undoing Hawkeye's buttons on his shirt.

Before they knew it, they were doing things that could easily be called 'against Army regulations', but they didn't care. Well, of course Hawkeye wouldn't care, but Margaret didn't either. She was enjoying every minute of it. They didn't realize, however, that their actions would lead to a very life changing experience…

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**Sorry that this chapter was so short, but like I said in my note up at the top there, I don't know how to write a scene that would be too explicit! Nor do I want to just in case! Haha. Hope you liked it anyway, and I hope there will be more on the way soon. Please tell me what you thought!**


	2. Cheater

_Hey everyone! Should have mentioned this at the end of the first chapter, but I'd like to give most of the credit (for the lines anyway) to Alan Alda since he is the one who actually wrote them for 'Comrades in Arms'! I just copied those. Hopefully you don't think any less of me now! Just kidding! Maybe…. :-S Thanks for the wonderful reviews! Oh, and there is a 'bad' word in here somewhere, but it's perfectly acceptable for the situation! (Don't worry, only the B word…oh no! Haha)_

**Chapter 2: Cheater**

**Five Weeks Later**

"Okay Major, here you go. Three days R & R in Tokyo. Have fun." Colonel Potter signed the papers and handed them to a very excited Margaret.

"Oh thank you Colonel!" She took the papers and headed to her tent to pack.

"Hidy-ho Major!" Hawkeye could see that Margaret was in a good mood.

"Hello Hawkeye!" She was smiling from ear to ear.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" The man asked, following the head nurse into her tent.

Margaret grabbed her suitcase from under her bed and went over to her wall locker to grab a few of her clothes, including a very nice black dress and her class A's. "I've been given a three day pass for Tokyo to spend with Donald. We're going to try to work things out."

Hawkeye smiled, loving to see the woman that he really did love in such a good mood. He hated the fact that he loved her so much, and couldn't tell her. If he _did_ tell her, there would be hell to pay. She was a married woman. But, the fact that she wasn't exactly _happily_ married bothered him more than anything. At times, he wanted to find Donald and give him a piece of his mind…or fists. "Well, that's great Margaret. I'm happy for you." His smile told everything, and Margaret thought she saw something different in his eyes.

"Are you alright?" She asked softly.

"Of course I am, why do you say that?" He asked, a confused look on his face.

"No reason…never mind." She _knew_ she saw something different in his eyes and his smile, but couldn't put her finger on just what it was.

"I should let you pack. I'll see you when you get back." Hawkeye gave a small wave and started opening the door.

"Wait." Margaret stopped him. When he turned around, she put a hand on his arm and smiled. "Thanks for what you did a few weeks ago. You know, with helping me through the shelling and the 'Darlene' letter and everything. I really appreciate it."

"Whenever you need someone to talk to, you know where I'll be." Hawkeye smiled and bent down to give the woman a light kiss on the cheek. With that, he turned around and walked out the door.

_What was that look?_ Margaret thought. The picture of the look he gave her was driven into her memory. She closed her eyes and played that moment through, over and over in her mind. _It almost looked like…love?_ The blond shook her head. "Couldn't be."

**Tokyo Airport**

"Lieutenant Colonel!" She tried her hardest to sound excited, but what she saw in Hawkeye's eyes earlier still dug into her mind.

"Major!" Donald picked her up and hugged her, kissing her all over. He noticed that she wasn't as 'active' as usual and just seemed to hang there. Usually she would be squealing with delight or something. "Are you okay Margaret?" He had a mild look of concern as he set her back down on the floor in the small airport.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Margaret wasn't all that convincing. She had felt very under the weather on the plane, but she thought it was just the frequent turbulence they were experiencing. There was also the fact that her heart wasn't _all_ there with Donald. It was very strongly going out to someone else. Even more so now in the last five weeks after her and Hawkeye's 'adventure' to the 8063rd.

"Well I got us a room at the hotel across the street. Do we want to go there now?" The man in front of her flashed Margaret a 'mischievous' smile and winked a little.

Suddenly, the successful Major had a yearning to see Hawkeye. She knew what her husband's look was supposed to signify, but it did the opposite. Now she didn't really want anything to do with this Lieutenant Colonel that was carrying her bags and heading towards the door. When Donald put an arm around his wife's shoulders, it gave her shivers down her spine. Not because _his_ touch did that too her, but because someone _else's_ touch did…

**Later That Night**

"Honey, we've been down here forever. When do we get to go upstairs and have a little fun?" Donald winked at her again and it was really making Margaret's skin crawl.

She tried to think of a way to get away from her husband. Margaret was starting to feel sick again and he wasn't making it any better. "If you want to go up to the room, I'll be there in about an hour. I want to go for a little walk…get some fresh air."

"Would you like company?" He asked. There was a look on his face that looked like he really didn't want to go with her.

"No…it's okay. I can go alone." The blond got up from where she sat at a small table in the bar at their hotel. It was a dark room with very little light, but the drinks were cheap. She had been nursing a shot of double bourbon and water for the entire two hours that they were there. Her stomach was really giving her problems today.

"Alright. I'll be waiting for you." Donald stood up when his wife did and kissed her on the cheek. "See you later."

Margaret just grinned a little before she grabbed her coat, exited the small bar, went through the very nice lobby, and out to the street. Being an American G.I. in Tokyo didn't exactly feel like being in Japan. Sure, the buildings and the writing on the signs were different, but you hardly ever saw the natives of the country besides in the shops and restaurants. Most of the people walking along the streets were soldiers on leave. There were men and women in their class A's walking hand and hand, occasionally stopping to look in the store windows at the beautiful decorations.

It was a chilly November night and the moon was shining brighter than any of the lights in the city. Margaret pulled her coat around herself a little more and thought about everything that had happened in the past few weeks. She and Hawkeye had become even better friends since that night in the hut. They'd go to the mess tent and have coffee together more than just when they were done with post-op. Before they had gone to the 8063rd, or at least tried, they had started to talk to each other more. After her little affair with Frank had run its course, the head nurse had become more 'human' and much more sociable.

But, it was one person who was helping her to crack out of her shell. The same person who she had been thinking about a lot today. Margaret's feelings for Hawkeye had intensified greatly as the weeks went by. Whenever she closed her eyes, she still saw that look in his eyes. Either the one that he gave her before their first kiss in the hut, or the one he gave her that morning. They were both inscribed into her memory forever…and her heart.

About a half an hour had passed when Margaret started to feel even worse than when she was on the plane. She became very dizzy and thankfully there was a park bench near by. She hadn't walked very far since she had spent about fifteen minutes in a little shop on the Ginza. For some reason, she had been drawn to the precious little baby clothes she had seen from the window.

After the bit of dizziness had passed, sort of, she got up and started walking back to the hotel. It would only take about ten minutes to get back down the street. After about five of those minutes however, she had that horrible feeling in her throat. The one that comes just before a person gets sick. Margaret was pretty lucky again, seeing as how there was a trash can about three feet from where she stood when she started having that feeling in her throat. It wasn't the most dignified thing to do for her, but she got sick in the trash can a few times, losing her breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the part of that double bourbon and water that she drank. After cleaning up as best she could right there by the trash can, she started heading back to the hotel room again.

The nice, granite lobby was illuminated by all of the paper lamps and looked beautiful. Margaret wanted to get up to the room, but stopped by the front desk to see if anyone had called her, just in case. When there weren't any messages, she went over to the elevator and pressed the number, sighing heavily when she thought about what Donald would probably want to do. She's just pull the headache card, or she could just say that she got sick…

But, she didn't have to worry about _that_ when she got to room 414. She got her key out of her pocket and went to unlock the door when she heard something…giggling! _'What the hell?' _Margaret wondered. There was a WOMAN in there! Then she heard Donald, seeming to egg the woman on! The woman at the door, this cheating man's _wife_, turned beat red with anger. She fumbled with the key and unlocked the door, swinging it open. "What the hell are you doing?!" She screamed at her husband.

"Margaret!" Donald and the other woman, a brunette with a face that resembled a mouse's, were tangled up in the sheets on the bed. Their clothes were all over the room. The brunette's tiny purple dress was over by the window, with her skimpy underwear by the bathroom door. Her bra was nowhere to be seen, not that Margaret was looking. Donald's clothes were also strewn all over the room.

"You son of a bitch! What the hell?! How could you?!" The Major screamed in a huff, grabbing her suitcase that was by the door.

"Margaret, nothing happened." Donald scurried out of the bed, one of the blankets around him, trying to convince his wife like she was some sort of idiot.

"Nothing happened?!" She screamed, "Do you really think I'm that stupid?! Yeah, I walk in on you and some slut doing God knows what in bed, NAKED, and I'm supposed to think nothing happened?!" Her sarcasm was almost deadly, along with the glare she was giving him.

"But…"

"'But' WHAT?!" Margaret wanted so bad to just slug the man in front of her. "How often does this happen? _This _happened when I was only going to be gone for an _hour_! What happens when we don't see each other for weeks at a time?! Is this what's going on when I call and they say you're in a meeting?!" She asked completely infuriated, not really wanting to know what the answer was. She had a pretty good idea of just how often it happened. "I let the whole 'Dear Darlene' letter slide, although I'm not sure why!" Donald's face became overrun by a look of confusion. "But this…this is…this is it! This is the last you've ever seen of me!" And with that, the very angry, very heartbroken, head nurse of the 4077th turned around, suitcase in hand, and ran towards the elevators.

"Margaret wait!" Donald jogged towards his wife, still wrapped up in a blanket, but didn't get to the blond before she hit the button to close the doors, and made her way back down to the lobby, sobbing the entire time.

**Two Hours Later**

Major Houlihan had gone to another hotel and got a room there. It was near Tokyo General and was practically in the same building as the PX. She had stayed in the hotel on a couple other occasions, but never with Donald. That was pretty much her reason for staying at _this_ hotel.

She was now laying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling and crying some more. 'How could he do that?' The question came up many times during the last two hours. Another thought came up as well though. In a sense Margaret had technically cheated on Donald about five weeks ago, but she kept telling herself that that was different. Very different. She and the man she was with were scared out of their minds and they needed each other more than ever. She had also only done that once and Donald had cheated countless times evidently…

Margaret couldn't take it anymore, she had to talk to someone. She was crying and 'letting it out' sure, but she needed help in getting through all of this. She picked up the phone and waited for about twenty minutes before her call was finally connected.

**MASH 4077th - 3:00 a.m.**

"Four oh seven seventh MASH." Radar stumbled over to the phone and answered it very sleepily.

"Corporal O'Reily!"

The young company clerk thought it sounded like she was crying, and he was right. "Major Houlihan, is that you sir?" He replied, not sure if it really _was_ her. He had never heard her cry.

"Yes Radar, it's me." She gave a sad little chuckle, hearing the young man call her sir, taken over by nerves. It used to really bother her, but now it seemed to cheer her up a little just because the young man was so funny when he was nervous. "Look, I know it's late, but I need to talk to Dr. Pierce. It's an emergency."

"Now? It's three o'clock in the morning!"

"I know! That's why I said it's an emergency!" The woman on the other end was getting a little perturbed now. "Can you please just go wake him up or drag him out of the officer's club or something?"

"Right. I'll be right back." He set the phone down and then hurried back to it, "Sir." He then set it back down and ran to the swamp, pulling his blue and white striped robe and coat on. "Hawkeye." The young Corporal quietly walked into the Swamp, not wanting to wake the other two men. "Hawkeye." He shook the surgeon's shoulder.

"Radar, if you don't leave me alone, I'm gonna show you a new place to put that bugle of yours." The dark haired man pulled the blanket above his head, turning away from Radar.

"Sir, it's Major Houlihan on the phone. She needs to talk to you. She says it's an emergency."

This brought Hawkeye to his feet. "Is she still on the phone?" He asked as the two made their way back to the office after the surgeon had wrapped up in his robe, blanket, and coat.

"Yes sir." Radar opened the door and let Hawkeye go through, almost lunging for the phone.

"Margaret? Are you okay? What's going on?" He was thoroughly worried about the woman who had, quite honestly, become the woman of his dreams.

"Hawkeye!" She sounded very relieved although Hawkeye's heart sank when he heard she was crying.

"Margaret, what's the matter?" He sat down at the desk, now fully awake.

"Are you alone?" The crying woman asked.

"Uh, hold on." He replied, swiveling the chair to face Radar. "Hang up the phone when I say, okay."

"Sure." Radar nodded and watched Hawkeye walk into Colonel Potter's office and pick up the phone. When he pointed to him, he hung up the phone and went back to bed.

"Okay, now I'm by myself. But, Margaret, what's the matter?" He sat down in Colonel Potter's chair, too concerned and focused on the phone call to put his feet up on the desk like he usually would.

"Well, Donald and I got a room at the hotel across from the airport and…" She decided it would just be easier to tell him the whole story so he would understand better, minus the fact that she was only out on the walk to think about _him_, "we just went up to drop our suitcases off in the room and then we went back down to the bar for awhile. Well, he wanted to go up to the room for obvious reasons but I said I needed to get some fresh air instead and went out for a walk. I told him I'd be back in about an hour…"

Hawkeye was trying very hard to understand her, but she was talking fast and it was pretty muffled due to the crying and the usual static from the phones. He was following along perfectly fine though with the few words he was catching.

"After about a half an hour, I got sick and threw up in a trash can on the Ginza…so I went back to the room and before I opened the door I could hear a woman giggling and Donald trying to sweet talk her or something. So I swung the door open and caught him and this other woman in bed together!" She was now crying harder than ever, relaying her story to the only person she could really talk to about things like this.

Hawkeye sighed, his anger rising against that stupid Lieutenant Colonel that obviously broke Margaret's heart. "Oh God. Margaret, I'm so sorry. I wish I could be there with you through all this…and to punch the lights out of that 'Penob-slob'" Hearing her crying die down a little, he gently asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm not staying with him. It's over. Before I leave, I'm going to get the divorce papers started…" The crying came back, "A divorce…"

"Hey, shh." Hawkeye tried to comfort her over the phone. He wished he could be there with her, letting her cry into his shoulder. "That man doesn't deserve someone as great as you."

A moment later, Radar came through the doors. "Choppers Hawkeye." Not a second later, the man on the phone could hear the blades of the helicopters slice through the air.

"Margaret, I feel horrible, but I have to go. We've got wounded." Hawkeye hated having to leave her in her time of need, but of course the war was back in town.

"It's okay. I just really needed someone to talk to and you helped a lot." He couldn't see it, but the chief surgeon thought that maybe a small smile had appeared on the woman's face.

"Any time." He felt a little better, knowing that she understood why he had to go. "I'll see you when you get back, and remember you can call me whenever you need to."

"Bye Hawkeye. And thanks."

"Goodbye Margaret, and good luck."

"I'll need it." She chuckled sadly. "Oh, Ben!"

"Yeah?" Hawkeye had almost hung up the phone, but heard her voice right before the phone dropped into the bag. He was also a little surprised by her use of his real name.

"I'm sorry." She told him, a little embarrassed.

"About what?"

"About falling apart on you like that. I can't believe I actually let someone hear me cry…"

"Hey, don't worry about it. It just proves what I've known for a long time about you."

"What's that?" She asked, a little confused.

"That you're human." He smiled.

Margaret laughed, "Thanks Hawkeye. I should probably let you get to your patients now. Thanks for everything." After a few more goodbyes, they each hung up their phones and sighed.

**Hope you liked this chapter. Sorry about the 'language'! I hope it didn't offend anyone. I would just like to thank Coasttocoast for reminding me to put an acknowledgement for the first chapter. I was planning on doing that and forgot all about it! Oops. Tell me what you thought about this chapter! Thanks for the awesome reviews for the first chapter. More on the way!**


	3. Back 'Home'

_Author's Note: Before you read, you should know that I have _no_ idea how a divorce would go so, just be warned that that part might not be the best…_

**Chapter 3: Back 'Home'**

The very next day after Margaret walked in on Donald with another woman, she went to the U.S. Army Head Quarters in Tokyo. It was a little ways down the street from the hotel she had stayed in for the remainder of that night. It took about two hours to get the papers that she would need, the whole slug of them. She took them all back to her room and filled them out, all that day. She only needed one more thing however, Donald's signature. Sure, even after she got the signature, it would take awhile for the divorce to be final, but this would probably be the hardest part…besides the waiting.

It was about eight o'clock at night by the time Margaret was done with _all_ of the paperwork and the signing. (She hadn't left for HQ until about noon since she felt absolutely sick to her stomach all morning.) The determined nurse got up from where she was sitting on the bed, signing all of the papers. She sifted through them to find all of the ones that her, thankfully, ex-to-be would have to sign and put them at the top. Before heading out the door, she made sure that the key to her room was in her pocket, put her coat on, and turned out the lights. She already felt freer, just holding the papers in her hand. The ones that would get her away form the biggest mistake she had ever made.

The night air was very cold compared to what it was when she had gone down to HQ that afternoon. During the entire ten minutes it took for her to walk down to the hotel that she would have had to stay at with her unfaithful husband, Margaret thought about her future. She would, possibly, be able to take her relationship with a certain surgeon to the next level…if he didn't run away when she told him her true feelings for him. Her heart twisted when she considered the fact that he might not have the same feelings for her as she did for him.

It seemed like forever, but she finally reached the hotel across the street from the airport. She walked in through the big, fancy front door and went strait for the elevators. When the doors opened on the right level, she took a deep breath, trying to calm her stomach that seemed to have a million butterflies in it, and walked towards the room she would have been staying in. The nurse was going to listen first before she took the key that she still had out of her other pocket, but decided that the stupid Donald Penobscott inside the room deserved to be walked in on if there was something going on.

When she swung the door open however, Margaret was shocked, and relieved, to find that the man she now seemed to hate more than anyone else on the planet was alone, lounging on the bed, reading the latest issue of _Stars and Stripes_. "Major Baby, I'm glad you've changed your mind about me." He smiled, harshly. "Take a seat." The man patted the vacant side of the bed as he put his paper down.

"Oh I haven't changed my mind about you." Margaret couldn't believe that he would think such a thing, especially after what had happened the night before. The blond showed her husband (and that term was used very, very lightly now) the papers she held in her hand and threw them down on the bed. She went over to the dresser and picked up one of the hotel's 'complementary' pens and tossed it at him. "Sign them…please."

The man reached down and grabbed the papers from the end of the bed and looked at them. "You want a divorce?"

"That's what I said last night!" She yelled, ticked that he wasn't listening to her when she was practically screaming his head off of him.

"But why?"

"You have to ask _why_?!" Now Margaret's anger was rising even more. She calmed down a little before continuing, "I walked in on you and another woman in here, doing God knows what, and you have to _ask_?! Just sign the damn papers…you obviously don't want to be married anymore either. At least not to me."

Donald sighed, "Fine, if it's really what you want." He picked up the pen and started signing his name on the different sheets. Starting out slow and then quickly signing them, wanting to get it all over with.

Margaret stood there impatiently, "Yes Donald…that's what I want." She nodded.

"Here." The Lieutenant Colonel put the sheets of paper back in order, all signed, and handed them back to his, soon to be _ex_, wife.

Without another word exchanged, Margaret took the papers and got out of his sight…forever.

**November 10****th****, 1952 - 4077 MASH**

"Want another one Hawk?" BJ asked from where he stood by the still, pouring another glass of the 'elixir of life'.

"No thanks." The chief surgeon of the outfit was laying on his bed, staring off into space, waiting…

"Hawk?"

"Yeah?" He came back out of dream land and addressed his best friend.

"Are you okay?" The man that was still standing by the still looked down at his friend on the bunk. He looked like his mind was way out in another time zone.

"Yeah, I've just been thinking is all." Hawkeye sighed, sitting up, "She's divorcing him." He said, more to himself, but BJ heard.

"Who's divorcing who?"

"Margaret's divorcing Donald. She walked in on him with another woman the other night." He shook his head and looked down at his hands.

"Ah jeez." BJ shook his head sadly, "She must be taking it pretty rough, huh?"

"She called me a while after it happened…crying. The poor Major was so embarrassed that she let someone hear her cry." The handsome doctor stood up, "She's really changed, you know? But what really scares me is the fact that I think I've…" He cut out before he finished the sentence.

"You think you've what?" BJ asked, thinking he possibly knew how the rest of the sentence was going to go anyway.

"I think I've uh…fallen in love with her." He spoke so softly that BJ didn't think he had heard him until a few moments after.

"Why does that scare you?"

"Because there's no way she feels the same way about me as I do for her, that's why." Hawkeye snapped at his friend. "I'm sorry…it's just that I love her so much and I would never, never hurt her and then this jack ass of a Lieutenant Colonel breaks her heart to pieces. How could he do that?" The pacing started again for the chief surgeon.

"Hawkeye," the other handsome doctor put his martini glass down and went over to stop his friend from pacing, "she obviously cares for you and trusts you. Why else would she have asked for _you_ when she called?"

Hawkeye didn't have any time to think about this statement since, at the very next moment, he heard a Jeep pull into the compound and park by Margaret's tent. The doctor raced out of the Swamp and over to the nurse in her class A's. He went over to the Jeep and grabbed her suitcase while she grabbed the other small bag. "Welcome home Major."

"Thanks Hawkeye." Margaret smiled sadly at the man, his eyes and smile radiating that same look that was still burrowed into her mind. They headed into her tent and she dropped her bag on her cot. He set her suitcase on her empty desk and walked over to her, putting his hands on her arms and looking into her eyes. They _were_ dry before he looked at her like that. Then she started crying, a little at first, and then after he pulled her in for a warm hug, a little more.

"Shh…it's okay. Let it out." Hawkeye kissed the top of her head, wanting nothing else but for this woman in his arms to be happy again.

"I did it." She said into his shoulder, very muffled.

"What was that?" Hawkeye asked, pulling away a little, still having his arms wrapped loosely around her.

"I got the divorce papers and I filled them all out, the day after I walked in on him and that little slut. I had him sign them and I sent them off for it all to get legalized and everything like that. I feel like this huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders." A small, happy, smile spread across her beautiful face.

The doctor wiped away the tears that were still on her cheeks, "Margaret I'm sorry…but I'm also happy for you." He shrugged, "He didn't deserve you. Maybe now you can find someone who will treat you exactly how you should be treated. With immeasurable amounts of love, respect, honesty, and all those other things that a person needs. Especially a wonderfully amazing person like yourself." He smiled that same smile that seemed to be coming up a lot in the nurse's mind these days. He reached up and put a lock of hair that had fallen into Margaret's face back behind her ear. Before he knew it, he was bending down a little, coming closer and closer to her before their lips met for a very passionate kiss. It could have easily tied with the kiss they had shared in that hut.

The kiss lasted for several minutes and the silence that came afterwards lasted almost the same amount of time. Hawkeye was the one to break the silence, "I'm sorry." He had been watching her as she turned around after the kiss broke, opening the bag and waiting for a minute or so before she reached down and started pulling out toiletries and setting them on the bed. When he had seen that she was shacking a little, he couldn't stand for it to be silent anymore, and he didn't want to hurt her. _That's_ when he spoke up, reaching out and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." His voice was low and husky with emotion.

"No," Margaret turned around quickly and reached up to grab the man's hand and squeezed it affectionately in her own, "no it's not that." Her voice seemed weak from the tears she was trying, but failing, to keep away. "It's something else…" She had started crying because, even with a kiss like that, she still couldn't tell if the man she loved, loved her back or not.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked gently, always ready to help her out.

She thought about it for a moment and shook her head slightly, "No…not yet."

Hawkeye nodded, "I understand." He pulled her a little closer and gave her a loving kiss on the forehead. "When you _do_ want to talk, my couch is always vacant for you."

"I really appreciate that Ben." She smiled at him lovingly, "I should uh…get unpacking."

"Right." The doctor nodded and started towards the door. Before he reached it, he winked at her, "Glad to have you back," and was out of the tent and back into the balmy November air.

Margaret smiled in the direction that the man had gone. "I love you." She whispered before turning around, clearing out a place on her bed to sit down. She still felt rather queasy from her flight back 'home' but that was nothing compared to the way she would feel in about five minutes.

Quite a few of the toiletries that Margaret had pulled out of her bag and put on the bed were those dreaded, yet useful, 'feminine products' that were, unfortunately, needed every…single…month. A thought struck the Major, still donned in her class A's. She hadn't needed those 'products' for awhile now. She looked over at her calendar on the wall to see what day it was. It should have been 'that time of the month' for her last week…and then there was 'that time of the month' that didn't happen the month before. _Oh God! _The blond shot up from where she was sitting on her cot and felt like she was going to be sick again.

"Oh my God!" She said quietly to herself as everything seemed to fall into place. At first, she thought that her constant nausea was air sickness, and then she thought that she had maybe caught a bug somewhere, early on her trip to Tokyo or before she left the 4077th, but now a horrible thought went through her mind. "Oh God! No…NO!" Margaret screamed as she threw the calendar that she had taken off the wall (to count the days out for the tenth time, double checking to see if maybe she _wasn't_ late) across the room and slumped down into her desk chair and sobbed.

**Sorry that this chapter was so short! I'll have more up soon, I promise! Tell me what you thought!**

**PS: If it sounds like I'm bitter about the 'every...single...month' thing, that's because I am...it sucks!! Haha.**


	4. Irritability

_As always, thanks for the awesome reviews! They really mean a lot!_

**Chapter 4: ****Irritability**

It was about seven o'clock and Margaret had been 'home' from Tokyo for about four hours. All of them had been spent on her bunk, the bag and the toiletries thrown to the floor so she could lay down with her head buried in her pillow. She couldn't believe that she hadn't seen it before. She was having morning sickness (as well as noon and night sickness), that time of the month hadn't happened in about two, and her emotions were being run wild. She couldn't tell if she was being more irritable than normal, but who could tell that about themselves?

The tears were coming a little less for the time being so she slowly got up off of her cot and went over to her wall locker, pulling out a shirt and pants and changing out of her class A's. The beautiful blond Major brushed her hair and fixed herself up as much as she could, trying to hide the tear stains on her cheeks. Just getting up made her feel a little better, but she was starting to feel nauseous again.

"Hi Margaret. Would you do me the honor of joining me at the mess tent this evening?" Hawkeye came up behind her, a couple minutes after she exited her tent, not really having a destination in mind.

"Uh…sure." She replied, a little preoccupied.

Hawkeye reached over to put a gentle hand on her lower back to guide her to the mess tent, but when he did Margaret jumped. "Margaret?"

"What?!" She replied, turning around. A surprised look covered her face and she was breathing hard, like something was wrong. She didn't know what hit her, but it seemed like a hundred things were going through her mind at once and it was overwhelming her.

"Margaret, what's the matter? Are you alright?" Hawkeye went to stand in front of her and put his hands on her arms like he had earlier that day. His eyes were brimming over with concern.

In her 'deadliest' Major Houlihan tone, she replied "I'm fine Captain, but please…mind your own business!" And with that, she tore out of his hold and ran to her tent, again collapsing on her cot.

"Major!" Hawkeye had jogged after her and was now knocking on her door, trying to get her to answer. "Margaret, I know you're in there." He spoke quieter, his voice matching his eyes in the concern department.

"Leave me alone Captain," came a faint reply.

Hawkeye's heart sank. 'Is she mad about what happened earlier?' He asked himself. "Please, I think we need to talk." The doctor was determined to talk to her, he needed to find out what was going on.

"Captain, please…" Her voice was coming closer and closer before she swung the door open to see him, "go away." She hated snapping at him like that, but she couldn't talk to him right now. She felt to jumpy whenever his name even popped up into her head all of a sudden. She _did_ know why though.

Hawkeye skipped dinner and went to the Swamp, feeling horrible. He thought he had hurt the woman he loved more than anything else in the world. The dark haired man grabbed a 'lighter fluid martini', sat on the end of his cot, and sighed.

**The Next Morning**

"Attention all personnel: We've got wounded on the way! No doctor should be without one." The PA system blared out the dreaded words at about seven o'clock in the morning. Most of the members of the 4077th were up and about, but this morning Margaret was still in bed. She had cried herself to sleep at about one in the morning, worrying about her latest realization and what had happened the night before with Hawkeye.

When Margaret heard the announcement come over the intercom, she hurried to get up and dressed. She did her normal morning routine that now included throwing up in the latrine or a nearby trashcan, whichever came first, and went to help out in triage. The first man that the head nurse got to had a large belly wound. "I need a doctor over here!" She called.

"Is it bad?" The man asked.

"No, you're going to be just fine." Margaret smiled down at him, giving him a caring look.

"Hey fella', how ya doin'?" The chief surgeon of the outfit came over and knelt down by the litter and the nurse by the man's side.

"She says I'll be fine." The man chuckled a little, looking over at Margaret.

"Well that's your answer then. She's the best nurse in the world so she ought to know." He flashed her a small smile before looking back down at the man. "You're lucky, you can wait for awhile. This is a good place to be at the back of the line. Corpsmen, get him into pre-op!" The doctor took charge of the, thankfully, small triage.

**Five Hour Later**

"What was it with you in there?" Hawkeye had just walked into the scrub room where Margaret was at the sinks, washing her face and hands. "Why were you being so harsh on your nurses today? You haven't been like that for a long time." He undid the knot in his scrubs and pulled them off, throwing them in the hamper.

"I don't know…" Margaret shook her head, feeling bad about the way she was treating her nurses that day. Every time they made a little mistake, she was jumping down their throats. "It couldn't be true." She said this to herself, but the man beside her heard.

"What couldn't be true?" He asked. When the woman beside him shook her head, he gave her a mischievous smile. "If you can't tell your enemy, who can you tell?"

The blonde's shoulders drooped a little and she sighed, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about what happened last night, and about what's been going on today…and about everything." She grabbed a towel and dried off her hands and face before going over to the benches, her scrubs still on.

"What happened yesterday? You know, when we were going over to the mess tent." He sat down beside her and untied the knot that kept the nurse in her scrubs.

"It kind of goes with what's been causing the rest of this." She spoke as she pulled the scrubs down off her arms and threw the white fabric into the hamper. Putting her head in her hands, she looked over at the man and saw that he had a confused look on his face. "Hawkeye…I've been nauseous for almost four days strait, especially in the morning. I've been even more irritable than normal, and I swear if you make a crack at that one you're lights will be out in a minute. And that time of the month hasn't been that time of the month for _two_ months…" She was on the brink of crying, but surprised herself when a huge weight seemed to lift off her shoulders.

A smile spread across Hawkeye's face. "Major, are you trying to tell me that you think you might be pregnant?"

Margaret nodded slightly and _that's_when the tears started.

"Shh…" He took her in his arms and let her cry on his shoulder. "I know I shouldn't ask but…have you told Donald?" His heart seemed to twist with the question. He loved this woman very, very much and he hated seeing her so upset, especially over something like this, that was supposed to be a wonderful thing.

Margaret pulled away a little, "I haven't _been_ with Donald for about four months now…and I'm _not_ four months along." She started crying even harder.

Hawkeye rubbed her back, trying to comfort her. A thought then struck him, "Oh my God…" He pulled away, just enough to look her in the eyes and asked, "Am I the father?" His eyes were starting to tear up as well, his face showing several different emotions.

"You're the only one that could be…" She put her head in her hands. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Her shoulders shook as her sobbing grew more and more intense.

The man couldn't describe how he felt. It was a mixture of shock, joy, fear, and pride. "Margaret, it's not your fault. You don't have to apologize. It takes two to tango you know." He put a comforting hand on her back. "It'll all be okay, I promise."

"I don't even know if I really _am_ yet."

"You could go get a test done in Tokyo or Seoul." Hawkeye suggested.

"No, I don't want anyone else to know…but I do know how we can find out."

"Yeah, I do too. But where are we going to find a female rabbit here?"

"Radar." Margaret pointed out.

"Margaret we can't do that to him. Fluffy means everything to him."

"We don't necessarily have to _kill_ her. Couldn't you just take the ovaries out of her and use them for the test?"

Hawkeye nodded and stood up, walking over to the door and opening it. "Shall we go talk to him?"

The nurse waited a moment before getting up and following him. "Just make sure he won't tell anyone." She looked very worried about the whole camp hearing about it.

"He won't if we ask him not too." The handsome, dark haired man stood aside so Margaret could walk through. He grabbed her arm before she got too far away from him and looked in her eyes. "I just want you to know that I'm behind you every step of the way here." He sighed, "and for the last couple of months…and before that even, I've fallen very much in love with you." The man smiled and looked down shyly (for the first time in his life).

The woman couldn't believe what she had just heard. "You…love me?"

"Very much so."

Margaret smiled from ear to ear. "Good…because I think I've fallen pretty hard for you myself."

And with that, the two went over Radar's office, Hawkeye's hand on Margaret's lower back. She didn't jump when he put it there this time.

**I hope you don't mind how I ended this chapter. I also hope that you thought Hawkeye's reaction was okay. I was a little worried about that. As always, tell me what you thought and I'll try to update as soon as I can. Also, I'd like to give some credit to Larry Balmagia since he wrote 'What's Up Doc'?' and there are some lines in this chapter from that episode. (Which is one of my favorite episodes!)**


	5. Finding Out

_Author's Note: There will be a few lines in here from 'What's Up Doc?' so again, some credit needs to go to Larry Balmagia._

**Chapter Five: Finding Out**

"You're gonna be a mother, sir?" Radar sat at his desk, his eyes looking like they were going to pop out of his head. He looked over at Hawkeye as well, "And you're gonna be a dad?" This made the company clerk's eyes pop out even farther.

"Well, that's why we need you." Hawkeye stood next to Margaret by Radar's desk. "We don't know for sure."

"Why do you need me?" The young man asked nervously.

The doctor had to stifle a laugh when he saw the look on Radar's face. "We actually need Fluffy."

"Oh…wait, what?"

"It's so we can do a pregnancy test. See, we put some fluid in the rabbit from Major Houlihan and after about twenty four hours we check Fluffy's ovaries and if there's any change, Margaret and I are parents to be, and if there's _no_ change she can keep her Army career." Hawkeye looked back at the blonde beside him and then back down to Radar, "And we don't have to kill the rabbit either. We can just take her ovaries out. Fluffy won't be able to have babies, but that means she and Bongo can live in the same cage." He was hoping that the final 'nudge' would do it.

"I guess it's okay if you don't have to kill her." The man's voice was small and seamed a little weak, worrying about his favorite pet, but he knew that they wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important.

"Thanks Radar." Margaret smiled at him, making the young Corporal blush slightly.

"There's one more thing. You can't tell anyone about this." Hawkeye knew how important it was for Margaret that her secret be kept.

Radar agreed to not tell anyone and went to get Fluffy, making sure she was comfortable and reassuring her that everything would be okay.

The doctor and nurse did what they needed to do to get the tests going and were on their way back from the vacant O.R. "Can I walk you to your tent Margaret?" Hawkeye smiled at the, obviously very nervous, woman. When she nodded slightly, he put his arm around her and gave her an affectionate kiss on the side of the head. "You alright?"

"I'm starting to feel nauseous again." Margaret looked down at her feet and then over to the man who's arms she was in, "How are _you_ holding up?" She asked, not really sure if she wanted to know. There was something about the tall, handsome surgeon, that made Margaret skeptical about his calm reaction to being the father of her baby, if there was one.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy about a new life possibly starting and all, but I have to tell you Major, I think I might be a little scared too." He spoke softly and prayed that she wouldn't take offense to the statement. He was_ very_ happy about possibly being a father, but he was also scared out of his wits. He just didn't want Margaret to know how scared he was about all of it.

Margaret just chuckled a little and shook her head, "You're not the only one, believe me." They took the last few steps to the Major's tent in silence. When they got to her door, Hawkeye opened it for her and turned the light on.

"Goodnight Margaret. You should really get some rest." His eyes showed his concern.

"Right." The blond nodded and Hawkeye started to walk away, "Hawkeye."

"Yeah?" He turned around and walked back over to her.

"Thanks…for everything." She started crying a little again as the man she loved wrapped his arms around her. "I'm starting to really hate this…"

"What?" Hawkeye pulled away, a little concerned.

Margaret chuckled, "I'm getting very emotional."

The dark haired man laughed and pulled her in for another embrace. "I wouldn't worry about being so emotional Margaret. You're a beautiful crier." He gave her his mischievous look. The woman pulled away and smiled at him through the tears. "And you're radiant when you're smiling."

The split second of joy that overtook Margaret's eyes went away again, "Ben, I've been hurt by a man already this week. I don't want to be hurt again. I really don't…ever."

"What are you talking about? I love you very much. There's no way I'd ever hurt you."

"Donald said he loved me too. And he also said he'd never hurt me. But look what he did. I let him have my heart and he broke it." She paused as Hawkeye reached up and gently wiped away her tears away. "Now I have this horrible feeling that if I give my heart to someone else, _they'll _break it too. I really do love you, but there's just something about everything that's going on that makes me feel like, if I'm not pregnant you'll just move on to a different nurse. And if I am, you'll feel obligated to marry me and you won't be happy."

"Margaret, I don't know what I can say to make you realize that I would never hurt you, but all I know is that I told you I'm behind you every step of the way. Even if you're not pregnant. I'm got going to leave you. I honestly love you more than anything and there's no way I'd ever be able to feel this way for another woman." He smiled at her in the same way that she had been thinking about so much while in Tokyo, "I wouldn't want to be married to anyone else."

The woman eyed him suspiciously, "Are you trying to say something?"

"I think I might be." He shrugged nonchalantly and kissed her on the forehead. "Goodnight Margaret."

"Goodnight Hawkeye." She held his hand for a moment longer and then turned around when the door closed. '_What did he mean by that?_' That night, neither Margaret nor Hawkeye got much sleep. They were both anxious to find out what the results of the test were.

**The Next Day**

"Hawkeye, what are you doing?" BJ asked from where he sat on his bunk, rereading a letter from Peg for what seemed like the 80th time. He was getting distracted by his friend's pacing and had read the same paragraph over and over.

"I'm just thinking…" Hawkeye paused for a moment to reply and then started his pacing all over again.

"You've been 'just thinking' since lunch. What's going on?"

It had been twenty three hours since the doctor and nurse had started the pregnancy test. Margaret's news and his involvement in the possible baby's life, hadn't really sunk in until about three in the morning. He had started to feel very nervous about being a _father_ when BJ showed him a picture of Erin he had received during mail call last week. "Nothing, I shouldn't say."

"It's something to do with Margaret, isn't it?" The man with the dark blonde hair asked. He had seen them sneaking around everywhere since she got back from Tokyo.

"Yeah, but I shouldn't say anything else…I promised."

"What if I say I won't tell anyone else." He suggested, pulling an olive off the toothpick and popping it in his mouth.

"I'd love to get it off my chest, but I promised. I can't." Hawkeye paused for a moment, sitting on the chair and facing his best friend. His eyes grew more serious and he sighed, "Do you think I'd _ever_ be a good family man?" He worded his question as best he could, not wanting to give too much information away.

"Well of course." BJ shrugged, not really knowing what brought the question on. "You really care about people, you've got a great sense of humor, you're a lot of fun, and you're always there when someone needs help. I think someone would be very lucky if they got you for a father…" The look on the man's face changed from a bit of confusion to surprise. "What _did_ you two do when you were in that hut, Hawkeye?"

"Okay, so you've figured it out, but don't tell _anyone_. Not even Peg."

"I won't, I promise. But, are you sure she's pregnant?"

"We're gonna know for sure in about an hour."

"Are you alright with it? I mean I know you've had feelings for her for awhile."

"I don't know Beej, I just keep worrying about how good of a father I'd be. A kid can't have a dad who drowns his sorrows in a scotch bottle all the time. I just…" The chief surgeon sighed again and ran his hand through his hair.

"Hawkeye, every first time dad gets this way. Maybe not the booze thing, but the nerves get everyone. If that test is positive I don't have a doubt in my mind that you'd be a great dad. And congratulations." He smiled and offered his hand.

"Thanks." Hawkeye reached out and shook the offered hand. "So, if it _is_ positive, is this how I'll be feeling for seven more months?"

"Oh, very much so." The experienced father chuckled as he nodded.

After a half hour of talking about fatherhood (mainly BJ saying how worth it, it is) Hawkeye went to Margaret's tent and knocked on her door. "Margaret?"

"Yeah?" She asked, opening the door.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to get something from the mess tent before we take a walk through the looking glass?" Hawkeye held his arm out for her to link to and she took it with a smile.

"I'd like that. Although, I really don't think I could eat anything…" She chuckled.

"Maybe just a cup of coffee?" The doctor's stomach didn't feel like it could handle much food either.

"Sounds good." Margaret nodded. When they found a table and started sipping on their coffees their conversation turned to their future. "If this test _is_ positive, what are we going to do? I mean, I'm obviously going to be discharged, but…after that. After the war…everything."

Hawkeye reached across the table and caressed Margaret's hand. "I'd been thinking a lot about that." A smile spread across his face, "Shouldn't a child's mother and father be married?"

Margaret had been drinking her coffee and had to swallow fast in order to not spit it out in shock. "What are you saying?"

"Margaret," He looked around, making sure no one would see (not that he didn't want to express his love to the whole camp) and smiled even wider, "will you marry me?"

She had almost gone the whole day without crying, but the tears came again as she stood up and walked out of the mess tent, leaving Hawkeye in a worried slump. He ran after her, finder her at the lab getting what they would need to figure out the results of the test. She was also crying a little harder.

"Margaret?" The worried man leaned against the doorway. She didn't look back at him when she talked, and it took all he had to hear her words amidst the tears.

"I don't know if I can marry you Hawkeye. You're just asking me because you think that a child's parents should be married."

"We don't even know if we'll _be_ parents. That's not why I asked you to marry me." Hawkeye walked over and put a loving hand on her shoulder. "How many times do I have to tell you that I love you before you realize that I really do?"

"Can we just look at the results and discuss this later?" She brought the specimens over and the doctor sat down at the stool. When the desk lamp was turned on, the light was even better when Hawkeye looked through the magnifying glass.

"Well?" Margaret asked, voice barely above a whisper.

He set the tray down and looked at the love of his life with soft eyes. "We're going to be parents," he replied, his emotions getting the better of him.

The, proven to be, expecting mother couldn't help the smile that spread across her face, "I guess we're having a baby." Before she knew it, she was hugging the man tightly and being hugged back with the same amount of passion. Her tears turned from tears of sadness to pure joy.

**Well, there you go. The Major is a mother to be, but will she be a Major that was? Hmmm…guess you'll just have to keep reading! Tell me what you thought!**


	6. Their Plan and Her Answer

**Chapter 6: Their Plan and Her Answer**

**Two Weeks Later**

Hawkeye was surprised, but very happy with Margaret's reaction to the news. He thought that when he told her that shereally_ was_ pregnant, she'd be upset. But the opposite was true. She was happy with the results.

The parents-to-be would meet at Margaret's tent every night. They would talk about everything into the wee hours of the morning. Their future, their childhoods, their hometowns (Hawkeye's hometown and then the different military bases that Margaret had been on), their hopes and wishes for the baby, and another thing: their plan.

It was about two o'clock in the morning, two weeks after they found out the results to the test. Margaret got off her shift at post-op in twenty minutes and Hawkeye was waiting in her tent to greet her. During the last two weeks, they had become even closer and Hawkeye was waiting for the right moment to take their relationship to the next level. He fumbled around with the small box that he held in his hand. Inside was his mother's wedding ring. When he wrote his father about everything that was going on, and told him just how much he loved Margaret, his dad sent the ring to him right away. Hawkeye was planning on proposing sooner, but the mail was slow and the ring just got there today. He opened the small box and looked at the diamond. It wasn't necessarily _big_ but it was just the right size. Hawkeye smiled, thinking of Margaret wearing the symbol of their love. Well, one of the symbols. She'd be 'wearing' the actual symbol of their love for about seven more months.

Margaret was tired when Nurse Able relieved her for the rest of the night and was glad that she could finally get off her feet. When she saw that the light was on in her tent, a smile spread across her face, knowing that Hawkeye was waiting for her. She started walking a little faster, anxious to be in his arms again. The feelings that the head nurse had had _before_ the test's results were known, were nothing compared to what they were _now_. After a few nights of crying in his arms she came to realize that Hawkeye really did love her and that made her love him even more. She yawned a little before opening the door, expecting to be welcomed by a warm hug or a tender kiss, but was surprised to find that no one was there. What she didn't know, however, was that Hawkeye was waiting behind the door. "Did I leave my light on?" Margaret asked to herself.

Hawkeye tiptoed over to her, not wanting her to hear him, and wrapped his arms around her middle hugging her from behind and nuzzling her ear. "No, I just had to have some light to do this." He kept one arm around her and grabbed the box with the other.

"Do what, give the mother of your child a heart attack?" The Major laughed. She had jumped a little, but relaxed more than usual when she knew it was Hawkeye by the nuzzling of her ear.

"That was the furthest from my intentions." The handsome doctor was able to open the box with one hand before bringing his arm back around the woman he loved, showing her the ring.

"Oh Ben, it's beautiful!" Margaret smiled, looking back at him.

"I was my mother's. I was wondering if you'd wear it and, in turn marry me?" He asked, kissing her neck.

"And you had to trap me in your arms so I wouldn't run this time, right?" She laughed while a few tears of joy came streaming down her face.

"No, I just can't keep my hands off you." Hawkeye maneuvered so he was in front of the woman in his arms and took the ring out of the box, starting to slip it on her finger.

"So what do you say?"

"I say yes Hawkeye, I'll marry you." She smiled from ear to ear as the ring was slipped onto her finger. Standing up on tiptoes, she kissed her (now) fiancée.

"You will?!" Margaret nodded right before she was swept up and spun around by the man she loved. When she was sat down Hawkeye whispered in her ear, "You've just made me the happiest man on Earth for the second time."

She knew what the answer was, but she had to ask, "And the first time?" Her smile let him know that she was only kidding and really did know.

"Well, the first time I was the happiest man on Earth," He had picked her up and was carrying her to the cot as he spoke, sitting down with her on his lap when he got there (it only took a couple steps), "was when I found out that this little guy was mine." He laid a loving hand on her stomach. They both smiled at each other for a moment before while Hawkeye rubbed her belly gently. The raven haired man's look became a little more puzzling, "Margaret."

"Yeah?" She asked, resting her head on his chest.

"I think I just felt a little baby bump." He smiled, trying to find it again. When he saw the look on Margaret's face he reassured her that she was still very skinny and she wouldn't start to actually _show_ for maybe another month. And, since he couldn't exactly find it again, maybe it was just his imagination.

"We're going to have to get that plan of ours straightened out. It won't be long until I _do_ start to show and everyone will find out and I'll be discharged." The couple hadn't told anyone about their secret except for BJ and Radar. Margaret had decided that BJ needed to know and was completely understanding when she found out that he had already heard.

"I was thinking about that when I was waiting for you." Hawkeye had laid down on her cot and Margaret was now sort of laying half on top of him and half beside him. "How long do you think it will take for the divorce papers to go through?"

"It's hard to tell. I told them at HQ that the sooner the better, but that doesn't mean anything."

"Well, if your divorce is final within a couple months, maybe we could get married here before you'd have to go back to the states…then tell everyone our other bit of news at the reception?" His eyes danced in fun, thinking of everyone's reactions.

"I'd like that." Margaret laid her head on his chest and felt like she belonged there. Her voice became a little weaker and shyer as she spoke what had been on her mind for the past couple of days, "I called my father and told him about our situation the other day."

Hawkeye could tell by her voice that the result of the conversation with her father wasn't as good as it could have been. "How'd he take it?" The concern radiated through his voice.

"He was furious." Margaret propped up on her elbow and looked at Hawkeye. "He said that if I was planning on going to him when I was discharged, I was wrong. He doesn't want to see me again…ever. Or his grandchild. I've been disowned by my father and my mom is a lush that I don't want our child around. I have no idea where I'll go."

"Margaret I'm sorry. I'm afraid your father's reaction is my fault."

"No…it's not Hawkeye. It's not your fault. I'm not even blaming myself for it, nor am I that upset because of it. He's never been much of a father. He always wanted sons and all he got was my sister and me. We've just been big disappointments to him so I don't really care anymore. The only reason I'm concerned is because that was pretty much my last option of places to go."

"My dad already loves his future daughter-in-law." Hawkeye's eyes twinkled, an idea hitting him. "I've told him all about you in my letters and he sent me that ring today in mail call…well yesterday, but he already really cares for you."

"I can't wait to meet your father." Margaret smiled.

"How would you feel about staying in Crabapple Cove with him when you have to go home?"

"It would make sense. If I'm going to marry you, there's nowhere else I'd rather live than your hometown." She smiled, "It sounds so beautiful, the way you describe it."

"Well I'm sure my dad would love the company." He squeezed her affectionately and sighed, "I don't know how I'm gonna stand being here without you."

"I don't know how I'm going to be able to be back in the states without _you_." She scooted up a little more so her face was closer to his and kissed his cheek. "I love you." Her fingers ran through his hair as she propped herself up a little to kiss him on the lips.

"I love you too, more than words could ever describe." Hawkeye pulled her on top of him, wrapping his arms around her, and covering her face with light kisses. After a moment, he pulled away a tiny bit, so there lips were only inches away from each other, "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything." She bent down to kiss him quick before he spoke again.

"Are you really and honestly happy about our situation?" His eyes again pooled over with concern as he reached up to push aside a couple locks of Margaret shoulder length blond hair that had made a curtain around his face.

Margaret chuckled ever so slightly, wondering how she would answer his question. Her tone became serious as she started speaking. "At first, when I realized that there was a very good possibility of me being pregnant, I was furious and scared. But then, it _grew_ on me. I started thinking about what the future would be like with a little bundle of joy. I don't know, maybe some maternal instincts caved in and I didn't want anything but to _be_ pregnant and to give a little person life." She shrugged, a smile spreading across her face that only an expecting mother could have, "Then with the whole Fluffy thing, I would have normally just said to _kill_ the rabbit to get the results, but I realized that there was just too much killing in the world and a life shouldn't have to be taken to see if another one has started. And then there was the whole thing about _you_ being partly responsible for the little life. I think that…if this child had been Donald's…I might not be _as_ happy. I mean _sure_ I'd be happy of course, but it just wouldn't be the same. I would know, for certain, that he wouldn't be there for me or the child and that he'd never love it or be a father to it. But since it's _you_ I know now that you'll be behind me every step of the way. And I know that you'll be the best dad there ever was." She had to wipe a few tears away before continuing. "So, to answer your question: yes, I am _very_ happy about our situation. The only thing that would make it better would be if I didn't have to go back to the states and leave you."

"And if you could keep your military career?" Hawkeye asked, his voice husky with the emotion that Margaret's words had brought on him.

"That doesn't even rank up there." Margaret shook her head, sitting up a little more. Hawkeye also maneuvered his way to a sitting position still having his fiancée in his lap straddling his legs.

"It doesn't?" His expression showed his surprise.

"No, not anymore." She laughed a little at his reaction, "I don't know what this baby is doing to me, but I think it made me realize that I really just wanted to be a _regular _nurse, not an _Army_ nurse. I just joined the Army to try to please my father…a loosing battle on it's own."

"Well I'm glad that you're so happy about our little predicament. You don't know how relieved that makes me feel." Hawkeye smiled and brought the woman towards him. She rested her head on his shoulder and listened to his sweet words as he rubbed her back. "And I'm also glad that you're not too upset over leaving the Army. But I have to say, I never expected to hear Hotlips Houlihan say that she was _happy_ about leaving the Army!"

"I don't think I'd ever replace this for the world." She pulled away and caressed his cheek before kissing it.

"Neither would I." Hawkeye pulled her towards him again and kissed her…and kissed her…and kissed her. The surgeon never went back to the Swamp that night, but all that had happened was that the two fell asleep in each other's arms after a long days work with wounded and their other duties around the hospital.

**So, how will their idea actually shape up? And will it go according to plan? Hmmm…I guess you'll just have to keep reading! Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews and I really want to know what you thought about this chapter. I'm not so sure if I'm very satisfied with it, to be honest. I'll try to update soon! **


	7. Suspicions are Rising

_I'd like to give a little credit to Tom Reeder and John Rappaport(The writer's of the episode 'Out of Gas') for giving me a little idea for what to put later on into this chapter. And, as always, thanks for the awesome reviews and for being so patient to wait for me to update again! This chapter feels like it's taken awhile to write! Hope you like it!_

**Chapter Seven: Suspicions Are Rising**

**December 19, 1952**

Margaret Houlihan was about three months pregnant and that 'baby bump' that Hawkeye thought he felt, the night he proposed to her, had developed slightly. It was a good thing it was winter, as the Major's heavy field jacket and liner covered her stomach enough to make her look like her normal, skinny self. She was still pretty self conscious and seemed to fold her arms a lot more than usual when she thought people would be looking at her, thinking it would distract the attention away from her middle.

It was about six o'clock in the morning and the mother-to-be felt something that woke her up. She opened her eyes slowly to find her fiancée smiling at her, arms wrapped around her middle. She smiled back at him, reaching up to give him a peck on this lips. "Good morning." Her grip around the man tightened as she scooted even closer to him (a hard thing to do in a small Army issue cot). They had been spending the nights together a lot lately. Since he had roommates, Hawkeye would stay at Margaret's tent all the time.

"You're beautiful when you sleep." The handsome surgeon leaned down and kissed her forehead, rubbing her arms when she shivered slightly. "Cold?"

"A little." She really wasn't cold at all, it was just Hawkeye. Whenever he kissed her like that, shivers of pleasure ran throughout her whole body.

Hawkeye would normally untangle himself from the blankets and get out of bed first. This only made sense because he slept on the outside, not really wanting Margaret to fall out of bed. By saying this to her once, Hawkeye got laughed at, but then responded by wagging his eyebrows at the woman saying, 'I live dangerously'. He would make sure to get out of bed a few minutes after Margaret woke up, considering that she would probably have to make a mad dash to the latrine to get sick by then. _This _morning was different, however. Hawkeye started to get up, but Margaret grabbed his arm.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"I thought I'd get out of your way so you could make your morning run to the latrine." He cocked his head in confusion. "Don't you feel nauseous this morning?"

"Nope, I actually feel kind of hungry." She smiled, "And it feels much better than the alternative."

"Well I'm happy for you." Hawkeye lifted the blankets back up and crawled underneath, taking his spot and wrapping his arms around Margaret. She wore a pare of her usual winter pajamas. They were soft and perfect for Hawkeye's 'cuddling needs'.

"So am I." Margaret shook her head, "I'm just surprised that no one has seen my 'daily runs to the latrine'. Or if they have, they haven't said anything."

"Yeah, that kind of surprises me too. It's such a small camp, you'd think _everyone_ would be asking about it."

"Does Charles suspect anything yet?" She asked, wondering about the other 'Swamp Rat' who wasn't clued in on the chief surgeon and head nurse's 'predicament'.

"He's asked me quite a few times why my bed is never slept in. But I keep telling him that I have a much better offer. He must think I'm crashing in the nurses' tent every night." He laughed, "Not so sure that'd be a bad thing." The man pretended to be seriously contemplating his last sentence, but was playfully punched swatted in the back of the head. "Oh Honey, you know I'm only joking." Hawkeye turned to his side and covered Margaret's neck with kisses. The nurse snuggled up against his soft long johns and almost dozed off again, perfectly content with his joking. "So, do you want to go get something to eat from the mess tent?"

"Sure." Margaret blinked repeatedly, trying to stay awake. She was a little tired still, but her stomach was starting to churn from the lack of food.

Hawkeye got up and went to the chair by the desk where his clothes had been thrown to the night before, and pulled his pants over his long johns. After buttoning them and starting to pull his lighter green t-shirt over his head, he heard Margaret curse. Pulling the shirt the rest of the way down, he went over to her by her wall locker, wondering what was wrong. "What's the matter, Sweetheart?"

"I can't…get my pants…buttoned." She was struggling to get the two parts of material together to slip the button through the hole, trying almost every trick in the book.

"Well don't squish the poor little guy." Hawkeye hugged her from behind, a playfully concerned tone in his voice as he placed a loving hand on her stomach where she had been trying to button her pants. Margaret laughed as he slid the zipper up as far as he could and kissed her on the cheek. "Just don't button them today. I got a 48 hour pass to Seoul for tomorrow and can pick up some bigger pants for you at the PX."

"What am I supposed to do today, let my pants fall down?" Her tone was serious, but her eyes were sparkling in amusement.

"Just use your belt, no one will see that your pants aren't buttoned under your coat." Hawkeye grabbed his other shirt and put it on before reaching for his field jacket and forest green wool cap.

"I just don't understand, I could get my pants on yesterday." Margaret grabbed the rest of the clothes she would be needing for that day, closed the door to her wall locker, and went over to the bed, dropping them all to it's thinning mattress.

Hawkeye chuckled, "But, as I recall, you had to practically stretch yourself over your desk to get them on."

"I was still able to get them _on_!" The Major finished getting dressed and went to her door pushing it open.

"Aren't going to check if anyone's watching?" Hawkeye teased her.

"We have a right to be together." She winked at him before stepping outside, pulling her scarf a little closer as the bitter cold air nipped at her cheeks. "So, why don't I go to Seoul with you tomorrow?"

"Margaret, I think I'd feel a lot better if you stayed here. It's a lot safer here." The 'concerned husband and father feelings' were getting imbedded into him before he was even a husband.

"Oh, come on. It'd be a lot of fun. We could have a little romantic getaway and I could try those pants on at the PX before you spend money on ones that won't fit. Then we could do some Christmas shopping!" She had started walking backwards and in front of him so they could face each other as Margaret pleaded.

"Honey," He stopped walking and put his hands on her arms, "I'd love for us to have a romantic getaway, but in order to get to Seoul, we'd have to drive through some pretty rough territory and I'd just feel a lot better in you and the little one weren't with me." The man looked up quick, seeing if anyone was around to see or hear them talking to each other like they were. He quickly removed his hands from her arms when a nurse and a corpsman walked by, looking a tad bit suspicious. Turning so she was walking the same direction and beside Hawkeye, Margaret started to reply but was cut off my the worried husband/father-to-be. "It's also not up to me." He smiled at her, letting her know that he wasn't mad at her, just concerned for her safety, "It's technically up to Colonel Potter."

**The Mess Tent**

Charles, BJ, Colonel Potter, Father Mulcahy, and Radar all sat together at a table in the mess tent, picking over what appeared to be hash browns with powdered eggs, washed down with coffee that had the slightest hint of purple to it.

Colonel Potter looked up, seeing his chief surgeon and head nurse enter the tent, Hawkeye's hand on Margaret's lower back. "What's with those two lately? It seems like they're always together."

"I don't know." The sandy haired surgeon shrugged. "How do they teach chickens to lay powdered eggs?" BJ asked, trying to get the subject off of his two dear friends, knowing they wanted their secret kept for awhile longer. He kicked Radar under the table (not meaning for it to hurt, but the surprised look on the young man's face showed that it must have a little), although he knew that the company clerk wouldn't tell.

Ignoring his bunkmate's question, Charles followed his CO's eyes to the two who were now in the chow line, getting their 'breakfast'. He noticed that the Captain seemed to be smiling and laughing with the blond like always, but she was smiling and laughing back. He had noticed this before, but never gave it much thought. "You don't suppose that there's something going on between those two…?" The balding Boston native voiced his question.

"Can you pass the salt?" BJ asked the Colonel, motioning towards the salt shaker at the end of the table. He was trying (and failing it seemed like) to keep the conversation from where it was obviously going. Colonel Potter grabbed the salt shaker and handed it down, a look of confusion in his eyes for why BJ didn't seem all that interested in what Hawkeye was doing.

"Well, has anyone else noticed that the Major's been running to the latrine almost every morning?" Father Mulcahy asked the group. A few heads nodded. "I haven't seen her at the Officer's Club or Rosie's for awhile either so I wouldn't think it's because of the booze." The look on the good padre's face turned to an expression of concern, "Although, I'm afraid those aren't the only places where drinking takes place."

"Now before we spread any rumors about the Major being a closet drinker, let's just see if we can't figure this out on our own first." The Colonel put a hand up, causing all of the murmurs of agreement (two being acted out by Radar and BJ, _knowing_ the reason for Margaret's mornings in the latrine) to come to a halt. "In fact, here they come now."

"Good morning everyone!" Margaret smiled cheerfully at the group. "Can we join you?"

"Of course Major, Captain." Father Mulcahy motioned to the empty spot by him. Margaret went over to sit by the padre while Hawkeye went to sit across from her, by Colonel Potter.

"Are you feeling better Margaret?" Colonel Potter asked the woman that had just sat down and dug, hungrily, into her so-called meal.

"Huh?" She looked up at him, a startled look on her face. _'How did he know about that?' _The thought almost made her panic.

"Oh, we've just seen you running to the latrine every morning for awhile, so I was just wondering if you were feeling better this morning." The CO looked back down at his tray and then up again, "You've been getting sick for a long time…but you seem to be just fine in the afternoon…?" He was now a little confused. Thank God he wasn't putting two and two together.

"I must have just caught a really bad bug or something." Margaret shrugged, catching a glance of Hawkeye, who was becoming a little pale, in the corner of her eye. "But yes sir, I do feel better this morning. Thanks." She had to take a drink of coffee to try to get the color (that she could practically _feel_ being flushed away by the statement) back into her own skin.

"Well, we're glad to hear that you're feeling better, Sir." Radar added in, twice as nervous as usual, just knowing what was going on for a change.

"Thanks Corporal." Margaret chuckled, feeling Hawkeye reach under the table with his foot to gently nudge her on the leg, letting her know that it would all be okay.

**Later**

"What do you mean we're out of Pentothal?" Colonel Potter asked, or rather yelled at the young company clerk.

"I'm sorry sir, but I just checked with supply and they said we're out. Then I talked to Zale and he said that we _did_ have some, but he traded it. For what, I don't know!" Radar spoke fast, his nerves getting the best of him.

"Well we don't have time to interrogate that weasel yet, with all these casualties at our front door, but as soon as this session is over, I want to see him right away! And you better break the ether out." The Colonel was getting angrier and angrier with every word and started taking it out on the Corporal. Realizing what he was doing, he nodded sadly, "Sorry Radar."

"It's okay sir." Radar shrugged it off and headed out to triage to tell the surgeons and nurses about what was going on while Potter went to help in Pre-Op.

"Are you serious?" Hawkeye asked sarcastically when Radar told him the news. "The war might be over by the time we get all of these guys knocked out to work on, having to use ether!"

"I know sir, but we're out of the anethni…anythid…the stuff that puts them to sleep!" The young man sounded pretty funny, trying to say anesthetics, but his tone was serious.

Guiding Radar to the barrel where a fire was going, and no one was, Hawkeye's tone became very worried. "Margaret can't _be_ around either. It's not good for her or the baby."

"It's not?"

Hawkeye shook his head, looking behind his shoulder at his fiancée who was kneeling by a soldier with a leg wound. She smiled reassuringly at him as she got up to go to the next patient, looking at the tag that the aid station had put on his coat zipper, and writing the information down. She gave the other man the same smile. The surgeon sighed and moved his vision over to the young man standing beside him, warming his hands to the fire. "How are we going to get Margaret away from OR without stirring up more suspicions?" For once in his life, Hawkeye couldn't think of anything.

"Hey, I know!" Radar fumbled with the clipboard under his arm, "The Colonel thinks she's sick, right?" He paused momentarily as Hawkeye nodded, "Well, the Major could be in the scrub room and then she could run out to the latrine, pretend to get sick, and come back. Maybe she could put some make up on or something to make her look really pale? Anyway, then when she came back to the scrub room, Colonel Potter would probably tell her to go back to her tent and get some rest." He grinned when he was done stating his plan, feeling proud of thinking of it.

"Radar, I never thought I'd say this, but you're a genius." The doctor thanked the young Corporal and went over to tell Margaret about the plan and why she'd have to 'play sick' in the first place. She agreed to the fact that it was a good idea, but couldn't believe that _Radar _had thought of it.

After triage was sorted out and the wounded GI's were moved into Pre-Op, the doctors and nurses rotated through the scrub room. Colonel Potter, Margaret, Hawkeye, and BJ were in, starting to scrub up, when the plan was starting to unfold. Hawkeye gave Margaret the 'sign' (pulling on his ear before going over to the sink to start scrubbing) and she quickly covered her mouth, making it look as if she would soon be getting sick. She then turned for the door and ran out, going to her tent quick to grab some light powder, and heading over to the latrine before anyone would see. When she was in the latrine, she messed her hair up a little, put some of the powder on her face and put the small jar in her pocket before 'stumbling' out of the tiny shack.

Returning to the scrub room a few minutes later, everyone but the commanding officer was already in the OR. She made sure to really lay on the 'sick' routine, keeping one hand on her forehead pretending it hurt, and one arm around her stomach. (Not only was it so she could fake a stomach ache, it was also to hide her slight 'baby bump' seeing as how her jacket was on the hook above the benches) "Sorry Colonel, I'll get scrubbed and meet you in the OR as soon as I can." She used a very feeble voice, knowing that the older man had a soft spot for her.

"Nonsense Major. You go to your tent and get some rest. We've got enough people here so you won't be missed _too_ much." Seeing as how he was already scrubbed, the old doctor could only watch with sympathy as the nurse took off her scrubs and grabbed her coat. He followed her a little to the door.

"Thanks Colonel. I'm sure this'll go away after a little rest." The blond gave a small wave before opening the door, going into the freezing cold weather, and heading to her tent.

**Four Hours Later - O.R.**

"That just has be baffled." Charles shook his head tiredly over his third patient, this one a halfway simple leg wound. (The same man that Margaret had given her reassuring smile to first when Hawkeye was watching). The man was conscious, a local anesthetic being used on his leg so they could turn the heaters on in the big, draft-prone, room.

"My leg?" He asked in a panic, sitting up.

"No, don't worry. You're leg is going to be fine, just lay back and relax." Looking over to his co-workers (although the pompous surgeon thought of them as 'beneath him') and continued on his thought, "Major Houlihan seems to have had to run to the latrine every morning for the last few weeks. Then she's fine the rest of the day, like you said Colonel. What could it _be_?"

"I know, it just doesn't make sense. At first I thought she must have the flu, but it's gone on for too long to be that." The CO also had a baffled look on his face. "What do you think Pierce? You seem to be spending an awful lot of time with her anymore." He turned around to sneak a glance at his chief surgeon.

Hawkeye and BJ were working at the same table on a little girl who had been hit by some shrapnel when her village was destroyed. She was maybe four years old and had taken most of the shrapnel in the chest, with a few pieces scratching her sweet face. The father- to-be was facing away from the man who had just asked the question and looked up at his best friend, a look in his eyes that said '_What do I say?_'. The assisting surgeon 'shrugged' with his eyebrows. "I've been trying to figure it out myself Colonel." He lied, not sounding 100 sure of his 'acting skills'.

"Why _have_ you been spending so much time with the Major, Pierce?" Charles asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

The young doctor's eyes took on the same expression as before. "We haven't really been spending _that_ much time together. But, we have been planning a little surprise for everyone for awhile now." His eyes grew wide, throwing the bait to his friend at the same table.

Taking the bate, BJ put on his best curious face, "What kind of surprise Hawk?"

"You'll see." Hawkeye silently sighed with relief as the conversations seemed to drift away from his 'involvement' with the head nurse and why she was so sick every morning. Being in a room full of doctors, he didn't know _how_ they couldn't guess that with MORNING SICKNESS she just might be pregnant! It also made him laugh a little at the irony of it, them not expecting _anything_ along those lines.

**The Next Morning**

"Ah, Major. Glad to see you're looking better." A very tired Colonel Potter was cleaning his glasses on his shirt while Margaret came walking into his office. Satisfied with the cleanliness of his glasses, he put them on and laughed, "Well _now_ I can see that you're looking better."

The nurse chuckled, pulling her coat around her a little more.

"What can I do you for?" The CO asked, leaning back in his chair.

"I'd like to request a two day pass to Seoul, Sir." She tried her best military voice at first, but decided a simple 'human' voice would work as good, maybe better.

The man behind the desk nodded, "I think that sounds like a good idea for you Margaret, it might make you feel better."

"Kind of what I was thinking."

"Well, go have Radar fill a pass out for you and I'll sign it while you pack. Captain Pierce is going as well, you could just ride with him."

"Thank you very much, Colonel." The nurse gave him another warm smile before turning around, her blond hair dancing around her shoulders.

It only took her a half an hour to pack for the two days of R&R. When she was done, she grabbed her suitcase (containing two changes of clothes, her bag of toiletries, and other necessities) and headed out to the Jeep that Hawkeye was sitting in, Hawaiian shirt visible under his coat and olive drab Army helmet on his head.

"I heard I have a stowaway for the day." He couldn't get mad at her for practically going behind his back to go with him. He thought that it actually showed that she really cared for him and wanted to be with him as much as she could before having to go back to the states. Jumping out of the Jeep, he took the suitcase and put it in the back for her, not wanting the mother of his child to strain herself.

Margaret smiled at him mischievously, "Let's just say that I've learned my 'devilish' ways from the best."

"Well, I _am_ the best." The handsome man winked as he got back behind the wheel.

Just then, the grey haired, ranking surgeon came out of his office, a signed two day pass for Seoul and a green wool army blanket in hand. "Here you go Major, have fun." Looking at the man beside her, he laughed, "You too."

"Jeez, forget about _me_!" The driver hit the steering wheel with mock exasperation.

"Oh, just get outta here." Potter returned the mock angry tone, his eyes sparkling in fun. "Take care of her."

"Will do." And with that, Hawkeye put the Jeep in gear and drove out of the camp. Before they got past Rosie's, the man reached behind Margaret's seat and handed the object he retrieved from there to his fiancée.

She looked up at him from adjusting the blanket over her legs and pulling her hands out from under the warmth, grabbing her helmet. "When did you get this from my tent?" She asked, a questioning but amused look on her face.

"While you were in Potter's office. I knew what you were up to and knew you would be too stubborn to grab it."

Margaret laughed and shook her head. "I can't fool you for a second, can I?" She put her helmet on, punching her husband lightly in the arm.

"Not for a second." When they were out of site of the 4077th, he stopped the Jeep for a minute, leaning over to give her a kiss. "Now let's get to that 'romantic getaway'."

**Phew! A long chapter for a change! This is what I'm used to writing! I really do hope you liked it. As always, there will be more to come and I hope to have it updated soon. I know how hard it is to wait for the next chapter of a great story! **

**:-P Haha. I'm just kidding! Lol. Tell me what you thought!**

**Next Chapter: 48 hours in Seoul! **


	8. Seoul

_Author's Note: Sorry it's taken so long to update, I've had TONS of stuff going on and then with the whole writer's block thing, I couldn't get to writing. I'd also like to give my best wishes to Bev, AKA: Coasttocoast._

_PS: If you couldn't tell, I had 'Slipping Through My Fingers' stuck in my head when I wrote the third paragraph. Haha. (Comes from seeing Mamma Mia four times-and counting!)_

**Chapter Eight: Seoul**

"I don't even look _pregnant_,I look _fat_!" Margaret was standing at profile in front of the mirror in her and Hawkeye's hotel room that they had just settled into. Hawkeye was lounging on the bed, arm covering his eyes. He held his arm up slightly to see and laughed at his fiancée's statement.

"Margaret, I think you'll have to get much further along to even look _chubby_." Hawkeye was still laughing as he got up and wrapped his arms around her, bending down to put his chin on her shoulder.

The blond laughed, looking at the tall, dark haired, handsome man in the mirror. He was looking back at her through the reflection, his hands placed lovingly on her stomach. She wanted so bad to just 'freeze the picture' right then and there so she'd have it in her mind forever. She knew it would be very hard on her when she had to go back to the states and leave him at the 4077th to practically be in the same boat that BJ had been in since he got to the makeshift hospital. "It doesn't even seem possible."

"What's that?" He asked, nuzzling her ear.

"That there's actually a little person growing in there." The Major (for the time being) smiled down at her stomach.

"They don't call it a miracle for nothing." Hawkeye's eyes grew soft when he saw the look on Margaret's face. She seemed to be in deep, blissful, thought.

Snapping out of her moment of tranquility, Margaret looked at her watch and then went to put her coat on. "If we want to get to the PX, we better get a move on. They close at five."

"Right." The doctor went to put his coat on and then held his hand out for her to grab. She weaved her fingers through his and they made their way across the street to the small military store.

While Margaret was in the tiny fitting room, trying on the bigger pants, Hawkeye was wandering around the aisles, not really looking for anything. He stopped at the magazines, almost picking up the latest issue of _Nudes Week _but decided against it when his hand was just a few inches away from the racy cover. His days of looking at those kind of magazines were contently over. He had already given all of the ones he had to Radar and Klinger, both shocked that he'd give the precious 'reading material' away, but accepting them eagerly.

"Gonna look at the volley ball scores again?" Margaret snuck up behind the man she loved, a disappointed tone in her voice, but a very amused look on her face.

The man in question must have jumped about three feet in the air. "Margaret….I wasn't going to…I decided against it…" He tried to explain, laughing more and more as his interrogator tried to stifle laughs of her own.

"Well I've found all I need." She lifted her arm a little, three pairs of olive drab pants hanging from it.

"Good. I take it they fit?"

"Yep, with a little room to spare. Just in case I'm over here a little longer than originally planned." They had decided that they would at least _try_ to hide Margaret's pregnancy for as long as it took for the divorce papers to go through. When her divorce would be final, they'd have their wedding the next day and she'd break the news that night and, more than likely, be on her way stateside a week or so after it all happened. That was their plan anyway. They didn't know how accurate it would really turn out to be.

The nurse and doctor went up to the counter to pay for the three pairs of pants. When Margaret started digging in her pocket for the money she had brought, Hawkeye took out his wallet and handed the right amount of Army script to the man in charge of the store. The blond looked at her fiancée with a small smile. "I figured since I'm pretty much the reason why you need bigger pants, I'd pay for them."

The mother-to-be laughed as the man behind the counter looked confused. "Thanks Ben," she smiled.

"Anytime." Hawkeye grabbed the bag that the young Sergeant had placed the pants in, and held his arm out for the beautiful woman to link with. They started making their way out of the store when the handsome surgeon asked, "Do you want to get something to eat?"

"I'd like that." Margaret smiled and nodded, the father of her child taking his arm from where he was linking it with hers and pulling her in closer by the shoulders. He kissed the top of her head as they walked down a couple doors and into a very nice restaurant. It was actually an _American_ restaurant that was put in awhile after the U.S. was involved in the 'police action' and more and more of the American GI's took R&R in Seoul.

"After you." Hawkeye opened the door and flashed Margaret his best smile.

"You're quite the gentleman tonight." She chuckled.

"I try." He gave a little shrug, a big grin on his face.

A half an hour had passed and the couple's food had just arrived at the table. Hawkeye had ordered his favorite meal: lobster, of course. Margaret ordered what sounded really good to her: a cheeseburger with _everything_ on it. There were sardines, pickles, onions, ketchup, mustard, mayo, tomatoes, lettuce, and chocolate sauce. (She had to ask for the sardines and the chocolate.) The look on the waiter's face when she made the special order was priceless.

"You're _actually_ going to eat that?" Hawkeye winced when she picked up a piece after cutting it in half.

"Well of course." She looked at him like he was crazy for asking. "It sounds wonderful." After taking a bite of the half that she had cut off, she nodded, "Tastes pretty good too."

It took everything he had to keep from gagging, but Hawkeye shook his head chuckling, "And so the odd cravings begin." He wasn't sure how he'd be able to eat his lobster after seeing (and smelling) the meal that his soon-to-be wife ordered, but had no problem after tasting the first bite.

They talked and talked while they ate. About the upcoming Christmas at the 4077th, their future, and about their wedding…whenever it would be. "What would your perfect wedding be, Margaret?" Hawkeye asked when they were done. He reached over to caress the blonde's hand in the dim candlelight.

She put her elbow on the table, resting her head in her free hand while she gazed at the handsome man across from her as she thought. "Well for starters, you would be there."

"I would hope so." Hawkeye laughed squeezing the hand he was caressing with affection.

"The entire 4077th would be there, too." She smiled, waiting for his comment.

"Well that's good, considering that's probably where it'll be."

Laughing, she continued, "Colonel Potter would walk me down the aisle, probably in the mess tent again, and I would keep the 'something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue' tradition going on."

Hawkeye cocked his head, a look of confusion on his face. "That would _really_ be your perfect wedding? No big fancy church or outdoor wedding?"

Margaret shook her head, "Any wedding is my 'perfect' wedding when you're the groom."

It was a good thing the table was small since Hawkeye leaned forward, using his finger to gently move the beautiful blonde's face towards him, and gave her a light kiss on the lips. "You're the only bride I'd ever want." He whispered.

After leaving the money on the table, with a little extra for a tip, the two made their way back to the hotel room. It was about eight o'clock and they decided to take advantage of the first R in R&R: rest.

Margaret laid on the full size bed, waiting for Hawkeye to come out of the bathroom. It wasn't the most comfortable bed in the world, but it won the 'comfort award' by a landslide compared to the cot in her tent. The blond wore a flowing white silk nightgown that was more for summer than winter, but seeing as how the room was heated, it didn't much matter.

She had only been waiting for a few minutes when the tall, dark haired man made his way over to the bed. He was cleanly shaven and smelled of his best aftershave. The smile on his face was the same one he had given her before she went to Tokyo all that time ago and on many other occasions. One of pure love and caring. He kissed her before wrapping his arms around the soft material and pulling her close. "This bed is _way_ more comfortable than yours or mine." He stated in approval.

"Sure is." She replied, a teasing tone setting into her voice, "But what I don't get is why we have this big bed and we're using the same amount of room as when we sleep in my little cot."

"Sorry." He scooted more towards his side of the bed, a hint of disappointment in his voice. Usually he could read Margaret like a book, but evidently the dim light in the room made the pages hard to read.

"I'm kidding." She laughed, pulling on his pajama shirt. "Get back over here."

"Gladly." He 'pounced' on her, covering her with feather light kisses.

A few hours of cuddling and whispering had gone by when Hawkeye placed a loving hand on his fiancée's belly. "What do you think it'll be like to be a parent?" His voice was soft, also thinking of the answer.

"It'll be tough." Margaret covered his hand with hers. "But I think we'll be okay."

The father-to-be carefully removed his arm from behind the Major's head, maneuvering so he could lay his head on the 'baby bump', listening to his child's heartbeat. He smiled from ear to ear when he first heard it while Margaret ran her fingers through his hair. Then the look on his face became more concentrated. He propped himself up on his elbow and turned to face the mother of his child. "I could have sworn I heard two heartbeats."

"You know as well as I do that it's an echo." She smiled at him knowingly.

"You just won't let me have a wild imagination will you?" He laid back down beside her and wrapped his arms around the love of his life again.

"What?" She asked when he started laughing.

"Can you imagine what it would be like if we had _twins_?" He started laughing harder, "Two little Margarets would be quite the handful."

"Two little Hawkeye's would be much more of a handful than two little, obedient Margarets." She retorted seriously, although a smile was tugging at the edges of her mouth.

"What's this 'obedient' thing you speak of?" He teased her.

"I knew you wouldn't know what _that_ word meant." Margaret gently poked him in the stomach.

They tried to stay awake a little longer, but became victims to the sandman and fell asleep, snuggled together under the blankets.

**The Next Day**

Margaret woke up by herself in the big, semi-comfortable bed. She reached over, still half asleep and became very confused when she didn't feel Hawkeye's warm body by her. "Good morning Margaret." When she rolled over, she saw her fiancée standing by the bed, a tray in hand.

"Morning." She smiled up at him and sat up.

"I brought us some breakfast." He set the tray on Margaret's lap.

"You're so sweet." She picked up the small vase that held a single rose and smelled the contents.

"I know." Hawkeye grinned, grabbing a piece of bacon. "Mmm…much better than the mess tent's."

Margaret took a bite of the scrambled eggs and agreed completely. "So, what are we going to do today?" She asked, taking a sip of the milk (thankfully not powdered).

"Well, we talked about going Christmas shopping." He picked up her hair that was on her shoulder and kissed her neck, "And then I thought you could pick out a dress."

"For what?" She looked confused.

"HQ called the 4077th, looking for you. Radar told them you were here in Seoul and so they called the hotel." The doctor explained, a smile growing on his face. "I went to see if there were any messages when I got back from picking up breakfast and you are now just plain Major Margaret Houlihan. No Penobscott."

"My divorce is final now?!" The, now 'free', woman looked very excited.

Hawkeye nodded, "You're all mine now." He winked.

The blond sighed, "I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders."

"I got something for you as a 'congratulatory gift'." The dark haired surgeon reached behind his back and pulled out a dozen roses.

"Hawkeye they're beautiful." She smiled at him.

"Read the card." He motioned towards the small white envelope.

Margaret opened it and read what the small card said, "_Eleven of these roses are real and the other one is silk. I'll love you until the last one dies. Yes, that _does_ mean forever. Always yours, Ben._" When she was done, her eyes were filled with tears. "Oh Ben." She smiled, leaning in to kiss him, careful not to spill the tray on her lap.

"When do we want to have our wedding?" He asked, whispering in her ear.

"I couldn't think of a better Christmas gift." She suggested.

"Neither could I." The man could easily pick up on what she was saying.

**Well, I hope it was worth the wait. I'm afraid I probably won't be able to update for awhile since school starts tomorrow and I don't have any study halls anymore! I'll be swamped (pun intended) with homework. Ugh. And then I'll be out of town this weekend. I'll try to have the next update soon, but don't hold your breath! Tell me what you thought of this one! Oh, and the 'Twelve roses, one fake' thing wasn't exactly my idea…But I hope you liked it anyway.**


	9. Christmas in Korea

_Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update, but I've been pretty busy with school AND TONS of homework. (For three straight days now, I've had about five SOLID hours of homework a night…that's what having no study halls and too many writing classes does to a person! I'm about ready to crack and this'll only be the first full week of school!) I obviously haven't had time to write my own stuff. :'-( But, now that I've posted this, I hope you like it! Some credit needs to go to Mike Farrell for writing the script for 'Death Takes a Holiday' where some of my inspiration came from for this chapter. (Is it just me, or did that sentence make no sense? Haha.) There are a few things from that episode, but it's been changed a bit__. Also, I know that Radar had left for home before that episode, but for this let's just ignore that fact! And let's say Nurse Cratty was running the orphanage as well at that time… ;-) Okay, here you go before I put you to sleep with all my gabber! Enjoy!_

_**Chapter Nine: Christmas**_

It was Christmas morning and Hawkeye was once again in Margaret's tent, his arms wrapped around her, giving her an affectionate squeeze when she woke up. "Marry Christmas Major." He smiled.

"Marry Christmas Captain." She was still pretty much asleep, rolling over in his arms to face him.

"How'd you sleep?" Her 'pillow' asked.

"Shh…I still am." She smiled mischievously, pulling the blankets up a little more and pretending to go back to sleep.

Hawkeye did his best impression of a little kid while he tickled his bride-to-be (and she would hopefully be his actual bride that day), "Come on Mommy. I wanna go open my presents."

Margaret laughed and reached up to kiss him from where she was snuggled up, her head by his chest. "I can't wait to see if our kid acts like you…well, maybe I can." She teased him. A look of mock disapproval came across his face.

The two untangled themselves from the blankets and got dressed. The pants that Hawkeye bought for the expecting mother fit much better than her old ones. She didn't have to stretch herself over her desk or fight with the button to get them on anymore. "It's a good thing we'll be spilling the beans here soon. I'm not sure I could hide her for much longer." She looked down at her slightly swollen stomach. "I think she's grown a little since Seoul."

Hawkeye went through the normal routine, reassuring Margaret that she wasn't showing as much as she thought. But then something hit him, "What's all this _she _and _her _stuff?" He asked.

"Oh, I just know it'll be a little girl." She placed a gentle, loving hand on her stomach, "I've always wanted a little girl I could dress up in cute little dresses and play with her hair…and all those things that mothers do with their daughters." The blond suddenly looked sad, "Well, I'm assuming that's what mothers do with their daughters. Mine was always drinking…" She was quiet for a minute, recollecting herself.

It took all of Hawkeye's will power to not take her in his arms and let her cry on his shoulder, but he could see that she was trying to hide her emotions about her mother.

When she looked back up at him, her eyes were a little more moist than usual but her smile was the same. "Of course I'd be very, very happy with a little boy too." She stepped over to the handsome surgeon and put her hands on her shoulders, "What do you want it to be?"

"I don't care whether it's a boy or a girl." He shook his head, "As long as it's happy and healthy."

"You're such a typical man, you know that?" She laughed as he dipped her low and gave her the most passionate, loving, caring kiss he had ever given her.

He lifted his head a tiny bit, his best suggestive grin on his face, "Can a 'typical man' do that?"

"Okay, you're special in that department." She nodded. When Hawkeye brought her back up, she gave him a knowing smile, "Come on Hawk, what _do_ you want though? A boy or a girl? Honestly."

He laughed, not knowing how to answer the question. He could already see himself doing fatherly things with either a boy _or _a girl, but he couldn't pick which one he wanted more. "I really can't pick Margaret. It's impossible. I mean, I think I know one minute, but then I think I'd want the other the next."

"Alright, don't hurt yourself. I won't harp on you any more about it…today." Her eyes sparkled more than usual whenever they talked about _anything_ to do with the baby. Hawkeye loved to see her like that. But, whenever he thought about how often her eyes would be sparkling later on when she'd be setting up the nursery or buying the baby clothes, his heart twisted just knowing that he wouldn't be there to see them.

When they were ready, the pair headed out to the mess tent, not really caring if anyone saw them together. The whole camp would know why the two were together so much by the time the night was over. "Margaret! Hawkeye! Over here." BJ Hunnicutt waved them over to the table he was sitting at with Potter, Klinger, Radar, and Mulcahy.

"Marry Christmas everyone!" Margaret greeted her friends cheerfully.

"Marry Christmas Major." Colonel Potter knew instantly that something was going on.

"Oh sure, forget the mere Captain." Hawkeye laughed, sitting down after putting his tray on the table.

"Sorry Pierce, Marry Christmas." There was something in the man's joking expression that made the colonel think something was going on from him as well.

"So when are the kids coming from the orphanage?" The blond nurse asked the chaplain.

"Can't be too long now. I'd say in about an hour or so. They'll be here for the whole day, right Colonel?"

"That's what _I_ got out of it." The CO nodded, taking a sip of his coffee.

Radar's attention was focused on something that he heard going on outside, "Actually Father, I think they might be a little early. Sounds like they're here now."

The members of the 4077th all filed out of the mess tent to greet the kids from the local orphanage. Nurse Cratty jumped out of the driver's seat of the pickup she was driving and started helping to 'unload' the kids from the back with everyone else. "You're looking great ma'am." Colonel Potter held out his hand and she shook it, a warm smile on her face.

"You're not looking too bad yourself Colonel." She replied, winking with a playfully exaggerated hint of suggestion. The older woman reached up to help the next little girl out of the back of the truck.

Margaret and Hawkeye had both gone around to the other side of the truck to help some more of the small children out. A little girl of about three years old reached out to Margaret. The nurse's heart melted at the sight of the little girl's sweet, yet scared face. She picked her up out of the bed of the truck and bounced her a little to try to cheer her up. When that didn't work, she gently tickled the girl's chin. When she laughed and wiggled away Margaret set her on the ground so she could go over by the other kids. Her smile would've revealed all of her and Hawkeye's secrets if anyone who didn't know them had seen it.

Hawkeye's eyes grew soft when he saw the mother of his child with the little girl. She was wonderful around children and would make the perfect mother. He was still pretty scared about being a father, but after seeing what he had just seen, he was a little less nervous. When a small boy reached out for him, he gently picked him up and set him on the ground. He was about five and carried a 'teddy bear'. Really, it was just a towel tied in certain places so it took the shape of a small animal. The little boy hugged Hawkeye around the knees and ran off.

It was a good thing that hardly anyone was on that side of the truck, because Margaret walked over to the tall doctor and wrapped her arm around his waist. "Sort of makes you wish our little boy or girl was that age already, doesn't it?" Her voice was quiet, not wanting to attract any attention.

"In a way, yeah." Hawkeye nodded, looking around and making sure no one was watching to get suspicious as he put a gentle hand on her stomach. "But, I don't think we'll want our kid to grow up _that_ fast." Margaret voiced her agreement. Her fiancée's eyes clouded up a bit, "I'm just hoping I'll get to meet the little one before he or she gets sent over here."

"You will…this war can't go on for _too_ much longer." She shook her head, looking into his eyes. But, there was something about the way he looked that made her want to cry, not knowing for sure if her statement was correct or not. She was just hoping that the war would be over before June, when the baby was due, so he could see it right after it was born…or even be with her in the delivery room, helping her out with his support. "Hawkeye?"

Hawkeye's look had grown more to one of concern than sadness. When she turned around and followed his look, she knew why. A Jeep was being driven into camp, a litter on the hood. And on the litter was, of course, a wounded soldier. "So much for the Christmas truce." Hawkeye sighed. The man went over and tapped BJ on the shoulder. Margaret watched as the other surgeon looked over at the Jeep and started jogging towards the wounded soldier, the chief surgeon close behind.

Margaret made her way over to the Jeep and the two doctors. "Okay, let's get this boy into Pre-Op. He _should_ be okay." They managed to get the man into Pre-Op without anyone seeing and started doing what they were trained to do.

A few hours had passed and the two doctors and the head nurse were in the O.R. tending to the man's wounds. "Clamp." Hawkeye was focused on the severe belly wound he was trying to mend up.

"Clamp." Margaret handed her fiancée the correct instrument.

BJ was sitting at the end of the table, playing anesthesiologist for the operation. "So, you two have any plans for the wedding?" He asked. The expecting parents had already told their friend about Margaret's divorce being final, but everything after that was just sort of planned spurt of the moment.

"Well, we wanted to have a Christmas wedding, but we never really got around to planning anything about it." Hawkeye dropped a sponge into the bucket.

"So we're having a wedding tonight?" BJ asked, a happy expression in his voice.

"I hope so." Margaret's smile could be seen in her eyes when she looked across the table at the man she would marry in, hopefully, not too long.

BJ looked like he was deep in thought for a moment before asking his question, "How are you going to break the news to everyone? The wedding I mean."

Hawkeye chuckled, looking up from the instruments, "We don't know, do we?"

"Not a clue." The woman laughed.

"I think I know how you could tell everyone about the newest Pierce though." The anesthesiologist told the two his plan.

**Later**

Luckily, the two kids in the picture Margaret had found in the pocket of the wounded man's coat, wouldn't have to think of Christmas as the day their daddy died. In fact, they wouldn't have to think of _any_ day as the day their daddy died. The patient had been checked into Post-Op and was being checked on frequently by the nurses that were rotating through. There may have been a truce for the holiday, but there were still recovering patients to look after. To make it fair, however, the Post-Op shifts were pretty short for each nurse.

Unfortunately, Nurse Cratty and the kids had gone back to the orphanage before Hawkeye, Margaret, or BJ had gone to the mess tent to join in on the fun. But, at least they got there in time to exchange gifts with their friends. Hawkeye and Margaret gave BJ his own pair of long johns for the cold winter months, seeing as how he was so jealous of Hawkeye for having some. Hawkeye bought a book, all about horses, for Colonel Potter. Margaret gave Klinger three yards of bright yellow silk fabric and a couple patterns for him to continue his 'Section 8 plots'. (Klinger was very surprised, but pleased that she'd actually give him the materials to assist in his 'schemes' against the Army) The couple had given Radar a small pair of pajamas for his teddy bear. To the third, and still clueless 'Swamp Rat', Charles was given a record that had a variety of classical music, all from different composers. Margaret was just glad that she wouldn't have to be around much longer to _hear_ the record from her tent. While in Seoul, Hawkeye was able to buy quite a few army blankets for a very cheep price, so he gave them to Father Mulcahy for the orphans.

At about nine o'clock, people were starting to get bored, huddling around the stove for warmth and singing Christmas carols. "Anybody got any ideas for what we could do for fun tonight?" Colonel Potter asked the group as the last chorus of 'Jingle Bells' came to an end.

"I know, send us home to see our families…" BJ called out, half heartedly. He was missing Peg and Erin more and more with each passing moment of the holiday.

"I'd love to do that Hunnicutt…" Potter nodded hearing everyone else voice their approval to the suggestion.

Hawkeye looked over at Margaret, a twinkle in his eye. She knew what he was up to and nodded slightly, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. "I have an idea, Colonel!" He called from where he sat on the table, between Margaret and the eggnog.

"What's that Pierce?" The CO asked, smiling. He knew that if it was something that Hawkeye thought of, it'd be sure to boost morale.

"How about a wedding?" He reached behind him and Margaret grabbed his hand, standing up next to him.

"Sorry Hawk, I'm already married." The 4077th staff laughed in amusement at their boss's reply.

The (soon-to-be) groom chuckled at the comment, "I'm serious Colonel. I wanna get married, but not to you."

"Who's the poor girl, Pierce?" Charles asked jokingly, already having had to much eggnog.

"Right here." Hawkeye put an arm around Margaret's shoulders while the whole tent seemed to gape in surprise, except for BJ and Radar who already had time to get halfway used to the idea.

The Colonel nodded after his mild shock settled down a bit more. "I take it your divorce with that Penobscot jack ass is final?"

"Yes sir." She nodded a smile spreading on her face.

"And you're sure you wanna marry…that?" The fatherly CO sent a teasing glance over to Hawkeye.

"With all my heart." The beautiful woman nodded again, wrapping her arms around the tall surgeon a little more. There were more gasps coming from the spectators.

"Well uh…Radar, if you would get the paperwork r-"

"Right here sir." The young man took out a file and gave it to the Colonel before he even had to finish his sentence, everything having already been filled out (as much as possible) by the head nurse and chief surgeon only a few hours ago.

The colonel stepped up onto one of the tables so he could be better seen by everyone. "Okay, here's the deal. Corpsmen: Set this place up for a wedding and make it look nice." Colonel Potter may have been _barking_ out orders, but this time he still sounded nice with the way he did it, all smiles like a proud father. "Nurses: Go help the Major get ready." He winked at the bride, "If she can get any prettier that is." Margaret blushed as he continued his 'orders'. "And doctors, Klinger, and Radar: Go help Hawkeye get ready and make sure he doesn't try to sneak his flippers or Groucho glasses into his outfit." Another teasing glance was sent Hawkeye's way. "And Padre: Do whatever you gotta do to get a simple ceremony ready."

"With pleasure sir." Father Mulcahy smiled, only too happy to join two of his closest friends in holy matrimony.

"If the future newlyweds want a Christmas wedding, we better get a move on. Lets all meet back here at 23 hundred hours!" And with that, everyone went to their 'stations', getting ready for the wedding.

**Well, I hope this will tie you over for now. I have a bad feeling that I won't be able to do much writing during the week and not even much on the weekends. I miss summer already… As always, tell me what you thought. I'm a little worried about this chapter so reviews (especially encouraging ones!) will be MUCH appreciated. I'll try to have the next chapter up as soon as I can, but like I said before, I have TONS of homework. And also, if Colonel Potter's reaction wasn't what you thought it would be, there might be an explanation for that sometime later in the story. Just thought I'd tell you that so you didn't think I was loosing my touch…if I have one to start with, I'm not too sure. :-S One more thing, sorry! If you're wondering what Hawkeye and Margaret got each other for Christmas, that'll also come later… Okay, now you can click the button! THANKS! **


	10. A Christmas to Remember

_Author's Note: Thanks for your wonderful reviews! They, like always, mean a lot! And again, sorry it took so long. I kind of had a little breakdown on Thursday night because of that hell they call school. Ugh. But, this has boosted my moral a little. I just hope you like it! Now, here we go: the wedding you've all been waiting for…and the spilling of the beans!_

**Chapter 10**

It was five minutes to 23 hundred hours, and Margaret was still in her tent with the nurses. When she and Hawkeye were in Seoul, the bride to be found a dress that would be perfect for the occasion. The pale magenta fabric was thick, but it was a good thing that she had bought a pair of long underwear the same day, seeing as how it was a very cold Christmas night. The dress tied in the back and flowed down from the decorative stitching just below her waist. She, self consciously, kept her arms down, folded around her stomach since she was afraid that her 'baby bump' was showing more than normal.

"Here you go Major, I think I know what you could wear for your 'something old and something borrowed'." Kellye Nakahara reached up and took the earrings out of her ears. They were tiny silver hearts and would look perfect with Margaret's dress.

"Thank you Kellye." The blond smiled, "They're lovely."

"They were my mother's. She gave them to me the day I left home to come here…said they were good luck." The short, Hawaiian nurse helped her boss with the earrings, making sure not to mess up the carefully fixed up hair.

Margaret smiled and looked at her reflection. She still felt a little self conscious about her stomach, but with her hair in a nice half pony tail with her bangs hanging loose and in spiral like curls, she felt a little better. "That's very sweet. I'll make sure to give them back before the night's over." The Major was worried about loosing the precious earrings if she kept them over night.

Kellye laughed, "Don't worry about it Major."

"Wait, where's your 'something knew'?" Nurse Able asked after looking to see if the woman had all of the 'bridal requirements'.

Margaret almost placed a hand on her slightly swollen stomach, but stopped herself just in time. "I have it, you'll see." She nodded, wondering what her nurses' reactions to her news would be.

"Okay, well what about your 'something blue'?" Baker questioned.

"Right here." The blonde turned around and picked up a bouquet of rather real looking silk flowers. (One of them being the rose that Hawkeye had given her that would never die-like the love he had for her.) A few were very light blue, a few were red, and a couple were pink. "What time is it?" She had looked down at her wrist, but instead of finding her watch like every other time, she saw the pale magenta fabric and the silver plaque bracelet that Hawkeye had given her for Christmas, early that morning. The plaque had '_Margaret,_' in a beautiful script on the front, with '_Until the last rose dies..._' on the back. She had shed a few tears when he gave it to her, it was so sweet.

"22:58." Not two seconds after Bigelow answered, there was a knock on the door.

"Yes?" Margaret called.

"Are you ready Major?" It was Colonel Potter, the man that would give the bride away (and the bride wouldn't have it any other way).

"I think so." And with that, she opened the door.

A proud, fatherly smile spread across the Colonel's face. "Oh my…" He nodded in approval. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you sir." Margaret beamed, grabbing hold of the CO's extended, coat covered, arm. The nurses started towards the mess tent to take their seats, except for Kellye who would be the maid of honor. Colonel Potter and his honorary daughter waited outside the mess tent. The man knocked on the door, their signal to start the music, and the wedding march started playing.

"Are you ready Margaret?" He looked over and asked with a small smile, knowing she really wanted this. She gently nodded, a broad smile on her face. The Colonel nodded back, opened the door, and guided the woman into the nicely decorated mess tent.

Taking a deep breath, Margaret started walking down the aisle, holding tightly to the Colonel's arm. She was a little nervous, even if she _did_ know that this was one of the best decisions she would ever make. She knew with all her heart that Hawkeye would never hurt her intentionally.

Hawkeye watched his bride-to-be walk down the aisle towards him. His eyes grew soft when he saw the look on her face. It was similar to the one she had when she found out that she really was pregnant. A look of pure joy. When their eyes met, they couldn't be diverted. They looked, seemingly _into_ each other, until Margaret was at the makeshift alter.

"Who gives this woman away?" Father Mulcahy asked the C.O.

"I do." Colonel Potter smiled proudly. Margaret gave the man's hand an affectionate squeeze after he gave her a caring kiss on the cheek. He smiled and took a seat on one of the benches that were on the right.

The beautiful blonde handed her flowers over to Kelley and took her future husband's offered hands. "You look amazing." Hawkeye whispered.

Margaret blushed slightly. "I feel huge," she whispered back.

"You don't look it." He chuckled slightly.

His bride sighed with relief and then looked him up and down, "You just _had_ to wear that shirt, huh?"

"It's good luck." He shrugged, looking down at his blue Hawaiian shirt.

"I thought that BJ and Charles were there to make sure you wouldn't wear any of that stuff." She cocked her head to the side, a little confused.

"Yes, but Radar and Klinger were there as well." Hawkeye winked at his future wife. He was about to continue, but Father Mulcahy cleared his throat.

"If you two are about done, we could get started with this…" The Padre's tone may have been serious, but the tone in his expression showed that he was thoroughly enjoying the conversation he was overhearing. He _was_ a little confused on the first part however.

All of the 4077th laughed in amusement. "Sure, Father, go ahead. We're done, right Sweetheart?" The handsome groom asked the woman in the pale magenta dress. She nodded, her eyes sparkling in fun.

When the congregation settled down, the ceremony began. "We are, unbelievably yet happily, gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony." Father Mulcahy shook his head, as if to shake it free of cobwebs. This, again, got quite a chuckle from the audience. "For those of us who knew Hawkeye and Margaret back when they first arrived here in Korea, would've never guessed that we'd all be brought together in the mess tent for something like this." There were some laughes in the crowd and many murmurs of agreement.

"But, in all honesty, these two have changed considerably since then and, instead of being against everything the other says or does, they now never seem to _dis_agree with each other." Francis continued, "They have gained a respect for each other that passes any other feeling: love. And with that ever-lasting respect and love, comes the supporting of each other. These two have been through a great deal together, and have seemed to be the strength for the other for quite awhile. It only seems fitting that these formal rivals should come together and become a team for eternity." He gave a wink after saying this, a very subtle amount of sarcasm in his voice that everyone, including the soon-to-be-married couple chuckled at, realizing how odd it all sounded...yet how true. And most of the spectators didn't even know the half of it!

The Chaplin then looked at the bride and groom in front of him again. "Do you, Margaret, take this man, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer as long as you both shall live?"

Margaret squeezed Hawkeye's hand and looked up into his bright blue eyes, her own becoming filled with unshed tears. "I do." She nodded happily, her smile going from ear to ear. Almost everyone from the 4077th seemed mildly surprised. They figured that if it was all just was a joke, Margaret would be the first one to drop a hint or just call the bluff. When she didn't though, they still thought that there was the possibility of Hawkeye calling the joke, if there was one.

"And do you, Hawkeye, take this woman, To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, as long as you both shall live?"

Hawkeye reached up and gently touched Margaret's cheek. "Of course I do." It was a funny comment, but no one really laughed. Most of them were too shocked that it was an actual wedding and not just a joke, but a couple people in the crowd and one in the wedding party smiled, seeing everyone else's reactions.

"The rings please." The priest looked over at the best man.

BJ reached into his suit pocket and a look of panic crossed is face. "Uh oh." He frantically checked his other pockets.

"You moron, don't you have it?" Hawkeye looked worried.

Getting the reaction he wanted, BJ smiled mischievously and reached into the first pocket he checked. "Had to do it."

The groom sighed with relief and took the ring. "Jerk." He may have sounded serious, but the look in his eyes told the best man that he wasn't mad. The handsome surgeon slipped the ring on Margaret's finger. She gasped when she saw how beautiful it looked with her engagement ring.

"Repeat after me." Father Mulcahy looked at Hawkeye, "With this ring, I thee wed."

"With this ring, I thee wed."

Margaret felt like her (almost) husband's eyes were looking into her soul. She smiled up at him and, when it was her turn, grabbed the ring from Kellye. After slipping it on the man's finger, she repeated the line, her voice almost breaking with emotion.

"I now pronounce you man and wife." The red headed man smiled, "You may now kiss your bride Hawkeye."

"Finally." He sighed in mock irritation. Margaret took a step towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist as he bent down and kissed her softly, but with loads of passion. She kissed him back with equal passion, running her fingers through his hair. There were hoops and hollers of amusement when the two went into their second minute of kissing. When they finally pulled apart, not _really_ wanting to, they held each other in a tight embrace and then turned to their coworkers and laughed at their still surprised expressions. A lot of them thought that it was all just an elaborate joke that they were both in on to boost the moral, but now they knew for sure that it was a real, honest to God, wedding and cheered the new couple on as they walked back down the aisle, leading everyone to the Officer's Club where free drinks were served. It was a tight fit, but _everyone_ managed to find a spot in the metal building.

The party had been going on for a couple hours and it wasn't even Christmas anymore. It was about two A.M. on December 26th when BJ stood up, clanking his cup with a spoon he found by the table. "I'd like to propose a toast to the happy couple." The best man was sitting on one of the stools at the bar, beside Hawkeye, Margaret, and Colonel Potter. He carefully stood up on the stool and motioned towards the chief surgeon and head nurse who had changed back into 'normal' attire, as did everyone else who had dressed up for the wedding.

"These are two of the best friends that I've ever had and I can't imagine what this place would have been like if I hadn't found Hawkeye here. Of course, Margaret hasn't always liked me, but I secretly thought she was a pretty nice lady once in awhile when I first got here." He winked at the blonde who was now hiding her face in her husbands coat in over exaggerated embarrassment. "But seriously though, I think they both did a lot of 'growing', just since I've been here. These two have always been quite the team in O.R., I'm glad they finally realized that they're a pretty good team _outside_ of O.R. as well." The sandy haired man smiled down at his two very good friends. "Congratulations you two. Sorry I can't make a better toast than that, but you know…" He held up the martini glass, "too many free drinks."

Hawkeye laughed along with everyone else who had been listening to the toast. "Good enough Beej, thanks."

"Nice lady once in a _while_?" Margaret teased the man as he sat back down.

BJ shrugged, his big cheesy grin coming into view. He then snapped his fingers as he remembered something. Standing back up, he clanked the spoon to his glass again and the crowd quieted down once more. "I almost forgot about the wedding present I brought for these two." He reached into his big coat and brought out a medium sized package, wrapped in Christmas paper.

"Wait a minute, how did you know to get them a wedding present?" Kellye asked from her side of the bar.

"I kinda knew this was gonna happen…" He shrugged, handing the package to the new bride.

Colonel Potter looked over at Margaret, an almost hurt look in his eyes. "Oh Colonel, we wanted it to be a surprise." She put an arm around the older man's shoulders.

"Eh, don't worry about it Major. I think I knew this was going to happen too." He looked down at the package, "Are you gonna open it?"

Both Hawkeye and Margaret looked confused at the man's confession, but the mother-to-be nodded and opened the package. She took the lid off of the white box and laughed, pulling out the contents. "BJ, this is darling." In her hands, she held a tiny uniform, complete with little fabric Major's clusters, sewn into the collar.

"Oh great, my kid's gonna outrank me!" Hawkeye laughed, looking up at his best man. "That's pretty cute Beej."

"I though you two might need it in awhile. Or should I say you _three_?" He sat down, leaving everyone looking thoroughly confused. (Except, for once in his life, Radar was one of the people that _wasn't_ confused. And neither was Colonel Potter, really.)

Knowing that this was their cue, Hawkeye and Margaret got up. "Okay, so my beautiful wife and I have a little announcement." Hawkeye put his arm around his wife's shoulders. They weren't standing up on the stools, but were able to find a couple of chairs to stand on that were a little closer to the ground and a little less dangerous. "Well, actually a _big_ announcement." He smiled from ear to ear.

Margaret continued, beaming. Looking up at her husband and putting an arm around his waist, she smiled and turned to the crowd. "Colonel, tomorrow when you go into your office, you'll find a piece of paper on your desk that will change my life forever…and Ben's. My resignation. It's much easier than going through the paper work for a discharge." Now there were even more gasps than when they told everyone that they wanted to get married. Colonel Potter on the other hand nodded, a smile on his face. "Ben and I got married for a couple reasons. The first, and most important, one being that we love each other very, very much. More than anything else in the world. And the second would be that we both think a child's parents should be married and in about seven months, we'll have a little bundle of joy of our own." The blonde affectionately squeezed her husband around the middle and smiled up at him. "We're going to be parents."

Hawkeye looked at Charles who's expression was one of the very shocked nature. "You may have noticed, Chuckles, that I haven't been sleeping in the Swamp much for the past month or so." After a slight nod from the balding man, he went on, "That's because, ever since we found out that we were going to be parents, we've been spending all the time we could together. We decided that we would get married as soon as her divorce from that Donald Jackass was final." The look on the doctor's face grew sad as he went on to the next part, "The only bad thing about all this is that now the love of my life will be a world away and I might not even be able to see my son or daughter until awhile after it's born. I hope to God that the war will be over by then, but one never knows around here. We've just been trying to spend every waking moment together in hopes that it'll make up for the lost time we'll have…although we know it won't." He moved his gaze to Margaret's eyes and smiled, a little sadly. "How I'm ever going to manage being away from this incredible woman though, I have no idea."

Margaret returned the sad smile, tears welling up in her eyes. She stood on tip toes so she could give him a quick kiss on the lips. "I don't know how I'll manage being without you either." She shook her head.

"Hey, this is supposed to be a party, you know." Colonel Potter piped in. "Why don't we put those thoughts aside for the rest of the night and have some more fun."

Everyone voiced their agreements and went on with the party. But, the mother-to-be had a very important question to ask the Colonel. "You know you've been like a father to me, right Sir?" Margaret went over to sit on the bar stool that was to the right of her C.O. and Hawkeye sat to the left of him.

"Well Margaret, you've been like a daughter to me." He grabbed her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "I'm gonna miss you when you're back in the states, waiting for the little one to arrive." His facial expression was the same as it had been since the wedding: fatherly pride.

"I'm glad you know that." Margaret smiled, dabbing at a tear that was forming in her eye, careful not to mess up her makeup. "But I also have another question for you."

"Well, go ahead." The Colonel thought he knew what the question would be.

"You didn't seem very surprised about Ben and me wanting to get married…Or when we told everyone that I'm pregnant. What did you know Colonel?" The corner of her mouth was twitching, trying not to laugh and keep a serious composure about herself.

"Major, I'm not _that_ dense. At first I was a little worried about you running to the latrine every morning, and granted I still _was_ worried about it, but after awhile I overheard you and Pierce talking about 'the little one' and put two and two together. Then last week in O.R. I uh…noticed you were showing a little." He spoke cautiously, trying not to offend her.

Margaret's eyes grew wide with mild horror, "You noticed?"

"I only noticed because I was kind of looking for it." The older man squeezed the Major's hand in reassurance, "You also have that smile that only an expecting mother could have." As if to prove it, the blonde smiled. "It's a beautiful smile."

"Thanks Colonel." She blushed a little.

"Pregnancy really is suiting her beautifully." Hawkeye got up and sat on the empty stool on the other side of his wife, putting his arm around her shoulders. She leaned back and kissed his cheek.

"Flatterer." She looked up at her husband, but back at the Colonel, "How come you didn't say anything, Sir? We didn't tell you because we were afraid you'd send me home before we could get married."

The Colonel nodded, "In all honesty, I figured that was what was going on so I decided to wait. I knew you would tell us when you were ready."

Margaret nodded, understanding what the man was saying. She yawned, leaning back into her husband's arms.

Hawkeye bent down and kissed his wife on the forehead. "Not too tired for our honeymoon are you?"

"Not if we go now." The new bride smiled mischievously and got up, making her way towards the door. "See ya Colonel…and thanks for everything." She held her hand out behind her.

Her groom got up and smiled widely. "Bye bye Colonel!" He hurried to grab his wife's hand, anxious to get back to her tent and have some 'newlywed fun'.

Colonel Potter was laughing so hard he almost spit out the beer he had just taken a drink of. "You two kids uh…have fun." He laughed, feeling a little awkward.

**Sorry that took so long to update, but I hope it was worth the wait. I'm **_**very **_**worried about this chapter though. I just don't have a very good feeling about it. But, now that they're married, I know exactly where this story is going so, if I don't have THAT much homework (yeah right!) I should be able to update soon. Please tell me what you thought. I'm anxiously awaiting your reviews! Special thanks to Lissy for the advice as well! ;-)**


	11. Gonna Be Hell Without You

_Author's Note: Sorry this took so long, but like always it's blamed on school! Haha. Also, this coming week is Homecoming and I've been working on hallway decorations for a LONG time! Oh well, Delta house (from Animal House) looks pretty good-I drew it! Okay so I traced...! But the coloring of it was HARD! And VERY time consuming. :-P The Sophomores better win this year… Okay, enough of my jabber. Here you go. Happy reading._

**Chapter 11**

**January 3, 1953**

New Years Eve had been quite the party, but what everyone was sad to see was the day that Margaret Pierce would leave for the states. They were happy that she would be going home, but they were sad to see her leave and knew they would miss her very much. No one, however, would miss her near as much as Hawkeye.

The newlyweds had spent every possible moment together, not wanting to waste a second of the time they had left with each other. Who knew when they'd see each other again…

All of the (as of yesterday) former head nurse's things were packed and by the door in her footlocker and the other two suitcases. Her desk had been emptied as well as her wall locker and the olive drab structures now stood hollow in their places in the small tent. The pictures that were tacked onto the wall were taken down and the orange curtains that hung on the windows were now waiting for Klinger to put them up in his tent. The sign on the door, reading_ Maj. M. Houlihan/Knock Before Entering_ was nestled safely in the bottom of her footlocker, ready to be hung in the basement or the garage at her new home in Crabapple Cove, to be seen only once in awhile. All in all, the tent was just a skeleton of what it used to be, the green canvas hanging onto it like skin, waiting for its new owner.

"Ben." Margaret gently shook her husband awake. It was early, around six o'clock, but she couldn't sleep anymore. She had been awake for about twenty minutes, her heart aching with the thought of having to leave the man who's arms she was in. She knew it was for the best though, having a baby in a war zone probably wouldn't be such a good idea. Still though, the thought of not waking up to her tall, dark haired, handsome husband every morning made her shiver. And not in the way that she usually did when she thought of him.

Hawkeye stirred, slowly opened his eyes, and looked at his wife with a soft smile. "Morning gorgeous."

"I guess that's the last time I'll hear you say that for awhile." And here were the tears. She was really trying to go until she said her goodbyes before the waterworks were turned on, but now it seemed pretty much impossible.

"If I could, I'd call you every morning to tell you that." Hawkeye's eyes lost their sparkle for a moment, having the same thoughts as his wife did earlier. He couldn't believe that he wouldn't be waking up next to his beautiful wife every morning. It made his heart twist and turn and tie into knots. He subconsciously tightened his grip around her waist and scooted down enough to give her a kiss on the forehead. "It's gonna be hell around here without you."

Margaret gently touched the man's cheek, "You'll still have BJ and the Colonel, and everyone else for company." She tried, very hard, to sound optimistic for him.

"They don't kiss like you do." The sly remark made the ex-Major tear up even more and made her breathing uneven as she tried not to cry. Hawkeye ran his fingers through her hair and talked in hushed tones, trying to lift her spirits back up. "Oh, don't worry honey. I won't really see if they do or not." This made her smile, but she was still trying, with little success, to hold back the heavy sobbing that she thought would surely come. Hawkeye scooted back up and Margaret laid her head on his chest and cried. Her husband slowly took in the aroma of the scent that lingered in her hair, wanting to remember the lilac smell for the rest of the time he would be over here. "I'll miss you so much." He sighed, "The little things too. Like the way your hair smells, that laugh that I used to hear all too infrequently, and the way your eyes could light up a room when you smile."

"I don't want leave you here…" Her voice was strained from the tears.

"I don't want you to have to leave me here either." His voice was also husky as he reached under the covers and snuck his hand under the expecting mother's pajama top, touching her cool, soft skin with his warm hand on the tiny baby bump, "But it's for the good of both of you."

Margaret reached down and covered the surgeon's skilled hand with her own. "I know," she replied, "but I just wish you could come with me. You have every right to go home as I do."

The dark haired man laughed sleepily and shook his head, "I can't tell you how much I agree with what you just said." He rubbed his wife's back up and down until she fell asleep, and he followed her.

At about eight o'clock, Margaret woke up again and knew she should get up. Hawkeye was still asleep, but in order to get out of bed, he'd have to move since he insisted on sleeping on the outside. "Hawkeye." She scooted up and ran her fingers through his soft, black hair. "Hawk."

His bright blue eyes opened quickly. "What time is it?" He asked, a hint of concerned in his expression.

The blonde brought her arm out from under the nice warm covers and looked at her watch, "7:58." She replied. Her voice became softer, "A Jeep is coming for me at noon…"

"What do you want to do for our last morning together?" Hawkeye's eyes took on their mischievous look.

Margaret chuckled, knowing what the look implied, but shook her head as he situated himself on top of her (trying not to put too much weight on her stomach) and kissing her gently. She returned his kisses, saying what she needed to do before the Jeep came to pick her up. "I have to take a shower…" kiss, "do my hair…" kiss, "make sure my Class A's are cleaned and pressed…" kiss, "and still fit of course," kiss, "make sure I have all of my stuff rounded up…"

"Come on, we can make it really quick." The man begged, making his best pouting face. "You won't see me for who knows how long, don't you wanna have a lasting, wonderful memory of your last day at the 4077th?" The nurse smiled at her husband, giving a slight nod.

**Later**

After having a morning that neither of them wouldn't soon forget, the newlyweds went over to the shower tent together and took their showers before getting dressed. Hawkeye wore his long johns, olive drab pants and shirt-jacket, grey-green t-shirt, and parka. He offered to dress in his class A's like Margaret had to (she didn't technically _have_ to, but she wanted to look nice for the long flight home), but she said it was okay and Hawkeye was very grateful. She looked great however and, surprisingly the dress uniform still fit fine. It was a little large to begin with, but now it seemed to fit perfectly. The mother-to-be wasn't _that_ far along, but since she was so thin to start with, it seemed to show up a little more.

Although the class A's were made from a thick material, they weren't very warm. Margaret ended up getting her long dress coat out and huddling up inside of it. Hawkeye was trying his hardest to keep her warm as well on this particularly frigid January day.

At 9:30, a very hungry ex-Army Major and a draftee doctor strode into the very crowded mess tent, Hawkeye's hand on the small of Margaret's back. Little did they know, however, that it wouldn't be just another trip to the mess tent. There was a banner that said _We'll miss you Margaret! _on the far side of the tent and one that said _Congratulations Major!_ to the right of the door. In front of the two very surprised people, and at the center of the tent, stood the entire 4077th with BJ, Colonel Potter, Radar, Klinger, Charles, and Father Mulcahy at the head of the crowd, standing around a large white cake with _Hotlips_ written on it in fancy red letters. There were four candles on the cake, one in each corner. "SURPRISE!" Everyone yelled.

The woman who's party it was laughed in a mixture of amusement and embarrassment. "You guys are something else, you know that?" A few tears started forming in her eyes again.

Charles shrugged after the laughter had died down. "We just wanted to give a very special nurse an appropriate send off."

"I couldn't have said it better myself Major." Colonel Potter carefully made his way around the cake and over to the woman with the blond hair fixed up into her uniform hat, still standing by her husband at the door. He led her and Hawkeye over to the cart that the cake was sitting on. "Go ahead Margaret, make a wish and blow out your candles." The nurse laughed, closed her eyes, and blew each candle out, making a separate wish for each one. There was applause when all of the candles were blown out and people asking what she wished for.

She just shook her head in mock irritation and told them that she couldn't tell, or the wishes wouldn't come true.

BJ took the knife and handed it to Margaret and smiled, "You two didn't get to cut a wedding cake."

"That we didn't." Margaret looked over towards Hawkeye, "Here you go Ben, you're the surgeon." She handed the knife to him and he grabbed the top of the handle. Margaret grabbed hold of the bottom half and together they cut the first piece of cake. Instead of making a mess out of his wife's class A's, Hawkeye carefully fed her a bite and took one for himself before everyone else dug in.

When the cake was pretty much gone, it was a little after ten o'clock. Time seemed to be going fast and both Hawkeye and Margaret were steadily declining in the morale department. They were sticking as close as possible, but occasionally got dragged to another part of the tent for one reason or another. Now however, they were both sitting at one of the wooden tables in front of a stack of presents. They were a mixture of wedding and baby shower gifts. "Open ours first!" Kellye excitedly handed a box to her former boss that was wrapped in soft pink paper.

"It's a one-of-a-kind from the nurses." Baker pointed out.

"Well I can't imagine what it is." Margaret carefully tore open the paper and then lifted the lid off the brown, cardboard box. She smiled when she saw the contents and lifted a small, baby-sized quilt out of the white tissue paper. "This is beautiful." The nurses all smiled, proud looks on their faces. The woman who had received the wonderful present looked astonished. "How did you get the materials for this…or the time?"

Nurse Able chuckled, slipping her hands into her pockets, "Well, we got the fabric from blouses that we brought over here but never wore and if you look closely, the thread is actually all olive drab. You know, from the sewing kits we're given to repair buttons and darn our darned socks." This got quite a few agreeing laughs.

"Then we all took turns doing a little bit when we weren't busy since about an hour after you two left the O club on your wedding night." Lieutenant Anderson answered the final question. "We just got it done bright and early this morning."

Margaret stood up and hugged each one of her nurses. "Thanks you guys. It's very sweet."

When the blonde sat back down, Colonel Potter handed her a small, newspaper-wrapped package. "I know it's not much, especially after that surprise from the nurses, but I thought you might appreciate these on that long flight you've got ahead of you."

Margaret smiled warmly and tore at that morning's issue of _Stars and Stripes_. When she saw what the Colonel had given her, she laughed a little and looked up at him, eyes sparkling. "That's very sweet Colonel. I'll always think of you when I read these." In her hands were two Zane Grey novels. Sunset Pass and Thunder Mountain.

"Look inside." The older man gently urged.

The woman opened the cover of Sunset Pass and read what her C.O. had written on the inside of the cover. _To Margaret, the nurse who is by far the best around, and to an all around good egg that has been like a daughter to me. Travel safely and don't let that little one grow up too fast. His or her honorary grandfather still has to be introduced and I'm looking forward to that day very much. Best wishes and love from your firm (but lovable) commanding officer, Sherman T. Potter. Ouijambu, South Korea. January 3, 1953_. The other book had just as nice of a message in it as the other one, but it was difficult to decipher since she was trying to read it through tears.

Sherman made his way over to the woman again and bent down to give her a hug so she wouldn't have to get up again and again. "Thank you Sir." The tears in Margaret's eyes had started to run down her cheek. The colonel wiped them away with his glove before reaching down again and giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"You're welcome Major." He spoke softly before straightening up, clearing his throat to try to get rid of the lump, and walked over to where he had been standing before the present from him had been opened.

There were a few other gifts including a teddy bear from Radar, a few little outfits for either a boy or a girl made by Klinger, and Margaret's favorite book: Elizabeth Barrett Browning's-Sonnets from the Portuguese, given to her by Charles. Father Mulcahy gave the mother-to-be his lucky St. Christopher medal for a safe ride home. BJ had already given Margaret the tiny baby sized uniform, but he also gave her a baby book that Peg had sent him awhile ago after he wrote home, telling her all about what was going on. She had seen it when she was in Oceanside, California and it made her think of her husband's friend (the description of him anyway). It had a teddy bear wearing Groucho glasses on the cover. The expecting parents, and everyone else, thought it was really cute. Margaret couldn't wait to be able to fill in the pages with photographs and written entries in the designated areas for 'baby's first smile', 'baby's first word', and so on and so forth.

Sadly, the time was getting closer and closer to noon. At about 11:30, Hawkeye ran to the Swamp quick to grab something before rejoining everyone for rest of the party. Margaret also ran to her tent to grab something from her footlocker and then went to the Swamp to drop the well chosen object off. She placed it under Hawkeye's pillow, knowing that he would find it that night, or whenever the next time would be when he'd come in to crash on his cot.

The last few minutes of the party were spent anticipating the arrival of the Jeep. Hawkeye, Margaret, BJ, and Radar were sitting at one of the tables, talking about their hometowns. Margaret paid close attention to her husband, wanting to know even _more_ about where she would be in a couple of days. When Radar's face turned forlorn, everyone knew that the Jeep was close by. A few seconds later, the driver honked the horn and everyone walked out of the mess tent and into the frigid air.

Colonel Potter walked over to the Jeep. "She's still gotta say her goodbyes. It might take awhile, Sergeant."

"It's alright." The young man nodded in understanding. "But, in order to get to her flight on time, I'd say we have to leave in about fifteen minutes."

The Colonel nodded and went to tell the leaving nurse how much time she had. Margaret understood and went to tell all of her nurses goodbye. After a quick goodbye to each of them and another thanks for the baby blanket, she went on to Radar. "Goodbye Radar." She smiled.

"Uh…goodbye Sir." He replied nervously.

The Major laughed and gave him a hug and moved on to Klinger. He was wearing a pink, kimono like dress and his imitation fox stole. "That really might get you out of here Corporal." She smiled at the so called man and gave him a hug.

"Goodbye Margaret."

"Goodbye Max."

Next up was Charles. He gave her a soft smile and gently grabbed her hand, "Although we haven't always seen eye to eye…I'd like to still consider us friends."

She nodded and smiled, "I could do that."

He raised her hand up and kissed it. "So long."

"So long Charles."

Father Mulcahy stood, a little shyly, in front of the woman when she went to say goodbye to him. When he looked up however, he smiled widely, "Bless you Margaret, and the little one too."

"Thank you Father." She gave him a hug, "And thanks again for the medal."

"No problem." He adjusted his glasses, "Farewell my child."

Colonel Potter already had tears in his eyes when Margaret made her way over to him. "I'll never be able to forget you Sherman. You're a dear, sweet man. I hope to see you real soon when the war is over."

"You can count on that." He took a step towards her and gave her a warm hug. "Like I wrote in that note, I have to meet my honorary grandkid."

The blonde was finding it very hard to keep her emotions in check as the goodbyes went on, "You will. I hope you don't mind if he or she calls you Grandpa, but you've just been much more of a father to me than mine ever has."

He had to reach into his pocket for his handkerchief and wipe his eyes before he nodded, "I'd like that…very much." His voice was barely more than a whisper.

She squeezed his hand in daughterly affection. "So long." Not able to speak because of a rather large lump in his throat, the colonel could only nod again, but his eyes did the talking.

The second to last person that she would say goodbye to was BJ. "The next time I see you, Buster, that thing better be gone." She laughed and pointed toward the small start of a mustache.

BJ shrugged, "We'll see." He looked over at Hawkeye who was standing by the Jeep, a sad look on his face. "I'll keep him sane for you."

"That means a lot to me Beej." She looked around at her husband also and then back to the sandy haired man, "Just look out for him. He might be a little lonely."

"Take it from someone who has been in his future shoes…he will be. But don't worry about him, you'll have enough to worry about." He motioned down toward the woman's stomach, a smile on his face.

Margaret smiled softly, a hint of sadness in her eyes, "I'll _try_ not to worry too much, but notice I put extra emphasis on 'try'."

The man nodded, "See ya later Margaret."

"See ya Beej." She gave him another hug and kissed he her on the cheek.

When she pulled away, she knew it was almost time to go. A couple of the corpsman had put all of the her belongings in the Jeep, causing it to sit a little closer to the ground.

Margaret walked over to Hawkeye and wrapped her arms around his middle, resting her head on his chest. He kissed the top of her head and again tried to put the scent of her hair into memory. "Write me…all the time." Hawkeye ran his fingers through her hair as she nodded, too choked up to say much. "And don't forget, you can call me too."

"I won't forget." She looked up at him and smiled, "How will I be able to live without you?"

"I don't know how I'll be able to live without _you_." Hawkeye kissed her cheek, "We'll just have to take it one day at a time." He looked down and laid a gentle hand on her stomach, "Try to wait for your dad to come home before you make your debut, alright?" Margaret covered his hand with hers. Hawkeye looked back up and when their eyes met, they leaned in closer and kissed...and kissed…and kissed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he slipped his arms in her coat. The sleeves on his coat were cold outside her class A shirt, but they felt comforting.

They reluctantly pulled apart, a little breathless. Margaret stood on tiptoes so she could lay her head on her husbands shoulder. "I love you," he whispered into her ear.

"I love you too," Margaret whispered back. She took a small step back and looked him in the eyes again. He bent down to give her a quick peck on the lips. "I'll call you as soon as I get home."

Hawkeye nodded, "I'll be waiting." He grabbed her hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze.

"Goodbye Ben." She tried, without much success, to be strong and not cry. Needless to say, it didn't work too well.

"Bye Margaret." Hawkeye quickly kissed her cheek one last time before she got up into the Jeep. They let go of each other slowly and the driver started the motor of the O.D. green Army vehicle.

After a couple more minutes, the Jeep pulled away. Margaret turned around in her seat and got a final glimpse (for now) of her husband and all of her friends along with the place that had been her home for the past couple of years. She dried the tears on her cheek before they could freeze, but her heart twisted as she was driven further and further away from her loved ones.

**Later**

The Jeep was about twenty minutes out of Seoul and Margaret had taken her arms out of her sleeves. They were now wrapped closely around her, inside the coat, trying to keep herself warmer. She moved her arm and found a lump in her inside pocket. Feeling for the zipper, she undid the pocket and reached inside. Just by feeling the object, she knew what it was. She didn't have to take them out to know that Hawkeye had slipped his Groucho glasses to her while they were kissing. A smile spread across her face, knowing deep down, that somehow…everything would be okay.

**That Night**

Hawkeye was already lonesome and depressed when he and BJ walked into the Swamp. It had only been about six hours since he held Margaret in his arms, and he already longed for her soft skin, her warm smile, her sweet voice, and…_everything _about her. He knew it would be a day or so before he heard her voice again and the waiting would _not_ be good on him.

"Want a drink?" BJ asked, heading over to the still.

"I guess, thanks." The chief surgeon of the outfit went to his bunk and laid face down. "How do you do it Beej?"

"Do what?" BJ knew what his friend was talking about, but he had to be sure.

"How can you spend so much time away from Peg and not go insane?" He asked, slipping his arm under his pillow and feeling something.

BJ shook his head as he poured his friend's drink, "I don't know."

"Does it ever get easier?" Hawkeye asked, pulling out whatever it was that was under his pillow.

"I wish I could say yes…" the man replied. "What's that?" He had noticed that a very wide smile had spread on the surgeon's face.

Hawkeye looked down at his wife's old hat, complete with Major's cluster on the front. "Margaret's hat." He brought it up to his nose and smelled it, hoping that it would smell like her. Much to his delight, it did. "Smells like her hair." The Captain's smile grew wider.

BJ nodded handing the martini over to Hawkeye, "That'll come in handy some nights….trust me."

Hawkeye took a sip of his drink and sighed, "How am I _ever_ going to get through this?"

"I have to ask myself that every day." With that, the two sipped on their martinis until the wee hours of the morning. Charles joined them at about midnight after finishing his shift in Post-Op. They all talked for awhile and played some checkers and chess. They all had a hard time getting to sleep that night, but Hawkeye had the worst. There was just something missing and he knew exactly what it was.

"BJ?" He called softly across the tent.

"Yeah?"

"Can I use your extra pillow?" He felt foolish asking, but he couldn't help it.

"Sure, here ya go." BJ took his extra pillow out from under his head and threw it to his best friend.

"Thanks." Hawkeye put the pillow under the sheets so his chin rested on the top and laid his arm across it. It _sort of_ filled the void, but he knew that nothing would help entirely…unless of course he could go to wherever Margaret was and sleep with her curled up beside him. He grabbed her hat that was on his little makeshift bedside table and put it where his chin rested on the pillowed. It helped him get to sleep, but if he had to do this every night, it would be a long rest of the war. Especially if that lilac scent every escaped from the fabric of the hat.

**Nope, that's not it! There's plenty more to come and you'll finally see why this story is called what this story is called! Haha. Also, I really hope you liked this chapter. It's a long one! Finally! And sorry to those of you who I told I would update last night. Needless to say, it didn't happen. Oh, and to April and her brother: I didn't know that January third was your guys' birthday until I had already started writing this so…happy birthday! Haha. REVIEW! Please…!**


	12. Crabapple Cove

_Author's Note: Sorry this took so long, but of course it was school! Haha. Then homecoming was a disaster…ugh. I also don't know how long it would take for someone to get home from the war so just go with what I have! I also hope the whole date/time thing won't be too confusing. Sorry if it's out of whack if you actually try to calculate what time it would be at the other place…I'm REALLY bad at math! On all of the converters I found, you could only go back to 1970, so we're just gonna say it was the same okay?! :-P Haha. Thanks! Here you go! Enjoy!_

**Chapter 12**

**January 4, 1953 (January 5th at the 4077th)**

Margaret Pierce landed in Portland, Maine around three o'clock, two days after she left the 4077th. (Well, two days in the time zone that she had grown used to.) She was still in her class A uniform and was afraid that she looked as gross as she felt. She didn't, however, and her hair was still fixed up inside her hat. She had made sure to spray a little perfume before she got off the plane so she didn't stink when she met her father-in-law. She was nervous enough for that moment and didn't want his first impression of her to be that she never showered.

After departing the plane, the blonde nurse gathered her bags and her footlocker and was able to get a cart to haul it all on. She made it in, out of the blistering cold Maine air, and stood by the large windows. It was a busy airport with many people and she tried to keep an eye out for the man that was going to take her to her new home. Doctor Daniel Pierce.

Margaret's stomach tightened each time she thought about meeting the man she would be living with until Hawkeye came home. Her husband had told her all about his father, but she was still nervous about it all. He sounded like a nice enough man, but what if he didn't like her? It could happen…

"Major Pierce?" A voice that sounded strangely familiar came from behind the woman in the brown dress suit by the cart full of luggage. Margaret jumped slightly, she was so preoccupied looking at the six or so inches of snow on the ground outside the window. It had been cleared from the runway, but there was still a white dusting everywhere. When the woman turned around, an older looking Hawkeye smiled when Margaret nodded slightly. "I'm sorry ma'am, I didn't mean to startle you. I'm Daniel…your father-in-law. "

There was something in the man's eyes that made the woman feel at ease. Her nerves seem to disappear a little and a smile formed on her face. "It's so nice to meet you Dr. Pierce, I've heard so much about you." She offered the man her hand and he took it, but only to pull her into a warm embrace.

"It's an honor to meet you Major, but I do wish you'd call me Daniel." They pulled apart and Hawkeye's father smiled, his hands on her shoulders.

"Please, call me Margaret. I'm technically not a Major anymore." She chuckled a little, turning around to grab her coat that slung over her luggage, starting to feel more of the draft that came in by the big windows.

Daniel laughed and helped the woman put her coat on, "More of my son's doing, I presume."

This made the former head nurse laugh even harder. "You could say that," she nodded.

"Margaret, I hope I'm not rushing you, and I know how tired you must be, but I really want to show you what I've been working on for the past month. So, why don't we get these things out to the car and head to the Cove?" Daniel grabbed the cart and pulled it to the car for his daughter-in-law.

"Well of course sir, anything you say." Margaret said cheerfully, following the man with the gray hair out the door. He gave her a mock irritated look, "Sorry…_Daniel_."

"That's better." The older version of Hawkeye walked towards the car, a very nice 1952 Ford Crestline Victoria with a red and white exterior and an interior to match perfectly. When the woman's luggage was all packed into the trunk, the two got in and made the hour long journey to Crabapple Cove.

The first twenty minutes of the trip were spent in silence. Daniel could see that Margaret was looking at the postcard-like scenery that was given to the New England states in the wintertime. He could also see that his daughter-in-law was still a little nervous. She may not have been as nervous as she was at the windows when he introduced himself, but she was still nervous enough where she didn't dare utter a word unless he started the conversation. "Have you thought of any names yet?" Daniel knew it was too early for anyone to be thinking of names yet, but he was just curious.

Margaret chuckled and shook her head, "No…not yet."

Seeing that the conversation wasn't really going anywhere, he started a new one. "I hope you like lobster. People eat it like air around here."

"I do like lobster." The woman nodded. Margaret looked out the windows of the car and admired the scenery again. After about ten more minutes of silence, she shook her head in a mild state of disbelief "I still can't believe I'm back in the states…" She sighed, "It'll take some getting used to, I guess."

Daniel nodded and looked over at his passenger quick before focusing his sight to the road again. "I bet it's one heck of a relief though."

Margaret shrugged, "I'm not sure." They had to talk a little louder than normal since the wind howled outside the car. She shivered a little and Daniel noticed. He reached behind the long bench seat, grabbed a soft, red and white blanket and handed it to his daughter-in-law. Margaret smiled and accepted the offer gratefully. The heater was on, but the air was still cold. Looking down at the colors of the blanket, a smile spread across her face. "You have a very nice car Dr. Pierce." Motioning toward the blanket, she added, "Even the accessories match perfectly."

"I thought I said it was _Daniel_? You're just too polite for your own good my dear. And thanks." The older man smiled and tapped on the steering wheel proudly. Looking over to the blonde, his eyes twinkled the same way his son's did, "I've always had a thing for cars." A couple more minutes passed in silence when something dawned on the driver. "Margaret?"

"Yeah?" She replied.

"What did you mean by 'I'm not sure'?" Her answer about it being a relief to be back in the states kind of left him confused.

Margaret knew what he was talking about, "I've never really been a civilian." She started to explain.

"Ben told me you've always lived on Army bases." Daniel replied, turning from a four lane highway, onto a smaller two lane road.

The former Major nodded, "Yeah. I must have lived on at least sixteen different bases all across the country growing up. After awhile, I kind of lost track of where I had been. I'm sure if I actually wrote them down I'd get up to seventeen or eighteen."

"That must've been rough, moving around all the time."

"Very." Her face showed a hint of sadness, "I was never at the same school for more than a year, and it was a goodyear if we made it that long. Dad was always getting transferred…" She placed a gentle, loving hand on her stomach under the blanket, promising herself that she would never put her son or daughter through what she was put through.

"So, what makes you so unsure about living in the states?" He asked curiously.

Margaret shook her head, "I'm not unsure about living in the states really, just being a civilian. I've never been just a normal woman. I've always had that bit of the Army in me, whether I like it or not… Those rules and regulations have always been there for me to live by and I've always had that commanding officer to tell me what to do." She chuckled a bit, "Okay, so Colonel Potter and Colonel Blake didn't exactly tell me what to do that much, but they always outranked me."

"And your afraid that since you don't have someone ordering you around, you won't know what to do?" Strangely, the man couldn't see this being her problem.

"Oh no…I'm perfectly capable of giving myself my own orders." She smiled, somehow knowing that the older version of her husband knew that that wasn't what she was worried about. "But, a lot of times, with ranking in the Army, you know who to look out for. How are you supposed to know in the civilian world if everyone is on level playing grounds?" she asked, more to herself.

Daniel reached across the bench seat and lightly patted Margaret's coat and blanket covered leg, much like a father would to his daughter. "I think you'll fit in to civilian life just fine, Major…Plus having a little of that Army training could help, raising a kid of Hawkeye's." They both laughed at the statement and when Daniel returned his hand to the steering wheel, he pointed off into the distance. They were driving on a rather large hill and could see for miles from where they were. It was a bright and sunny afternoon, even though it had been pretty foggy that morning. (The flight from San Francisco to Portland was almost going to have to be delayed, but the fog over Maine lifted at the last minute.) "See all those pine trees, way off in that direction?" Margaret leaned forward and looked where Daniel was pointing. Seeing the huge cluster of trees that he had pointed out, she nodded. "It'll take another twenty minutes or so to get there, but that's home." He smiled.

As they drove down the other side of the hill, it became increasingly difficult to see the large grouping of trees because of all of the other hills, but Margaret could hear her heartbeat in her ears. She was so close to her future home that she could see it, and she was very excited. She had been waiting for 25 years to put down roots, and this would be where they would finally go. In her head, she could see pictures of the sea-side town from Hawkeye's descriptions, but she couldn't wait to actually _see_ it…_experience_ it.

The last twenty minutes of the trip were spent in a sort of awkward silence for Daniel, but Margaret was just imagining what life would be like in the small town. She pictured Hawkeye and their child playing in the backyard of her husband's boyhood home, the little boy or girl being chased around by Hawkeye, acting like a little boy himself. A small smile spread across her face when she thought of what her child would more than likely be like as a toddler, walking on shaky legs, not yet an _expert_ at walking. When she pictured the toddler trying to walk towards her, unbalanced, in a living room that she pictured as being a soft blue with beautifully cherry stained wood trim and soft white carpet, she gave a small, content sigh.

"Don't blink or you'll miss it." Daniel joked, motioning towards the big sign that marked the outer limits of the small town. It was forest green with a big red, wooden lobster mounted a couple inches away from the green background so it looked three dimensional. Above the lobster in big white letters said _Welcome to Crabapple Cove_ and under the crustacean it said _Home of the Fighting Lobsters. _"The kids around here sure do have a lot of school spirit." He turned to look at Margaret quick and then looked back at the road, "The football team was undefeated during Hawkeye's senior year at high school. They won the state championship and everything. Did he ever tell you about that?"

Margaret shook her head. "No."

"Doesn't surprise me." The man laughed, "He was benched most of the time."

Margaret laughed and looked around at the few buildings that were by the road they were on. There was a tiny clothing story, a furniture story that was bigger than what you would expect from such a small town, a book store, and a diner. The road curved and the newcomer's jaw dropped when she saw what was just out of site before the curve. To the left of the two lane road was a library, a two story brick building that must have been the school, a restaurant that had been cleverly designed to look like a giant treasure chest, and a small brick building that was no bigger than a shed that had a sign reading _Crabapple Cove Town Hall_ above the door. What caused Margaret's jaw to drop, however, was the sight of what was on the right side of the road.

A sidewalk took the curve as the road, a few feet in from the asphalt with snow in between. The snow laid on the ground, fluffy for about ten yards after the sidewalk before it bent down into a steep hill. There were kids with sleds, zooming down the tree-cleared hill and laughing in amusement. Margaret straightened her back so she sat a little taller, wanting to see just how big of a hill it was. It was a _big_ hill and about forty feet from where it leveled off again at the bottom was the ocean. Today it was the most beautiful blue the blonde had ever seen. The sun was shining on the surface of the water and seemed to make it sparkle. It was pretty calm despite the heavy winds and faded off at the horizon.

"Pretty impressive, huh?" Daniel asked, seeing the expression on Margaret's face.

"Very." She nodded, still in awe. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah, I never get tired of that view…" The Crabapple Cove native drove for a couple more blocks before turning onto Pine Tree Lane. It was an appropriate name for the street, seeing as how every house had at least two pine trees in the front yard. In between the houses, visions of the ocean became clearer and clearer as the streets before Pine Tree Lane were cut shorter because of the curve in the land that jutted out into the ocean in a small, peninsula-like piece of stony shoreline.

Margaret tried to figure out which house was the Pierce home based on Hawkeye's description. She knew it was an old, pale yellow and white Victorian with a white picket fence, a big front porch and a huge yard. She knew they had to be getting close since they were running out of road. Just after she started wondering if Hawkeye's description was accurate or not, she saw it and her husband's description fit to a T. The house was situated about a hundred feet from the drop off of the cliff on all three sides and the scenery was breath-taking. There were four pine trees, scattered in the front yard and twenty or thirty were scattered around the rest of the point with five inside the picket fenced back yard.

Daniel put the car in park and got out to open the garage door quick before coming back and driving the Crestline into the building. When he shut the car off and took the keys out of the ignition, he turned to the woman in the passenger seat, "Welcome home." Seeing that she still had an awe-struck look on her face, he chuckled and asked, "So…what do you think of the Cove?"

"It's amazing." She folded the blanket and returned it to where it was in the backseat.

"I'm glad you like it." He was more than satisfied with her reaction to the small town he had grown quite fond of in his lifetime and the proud look he had on his face showed it clearly. "Well, why don't we get you inside and I can show you the surprise I've been working on."

"Okay." Margaret nodded. With that, the two people got out of the car and hurried into the house before they had the opportunity to get cold again. While her father-in-law unlocked the front door, the blond had time to look around and admire the front porch, complete with porch swing. She could just see herself sitting on the swing in Hawkeye's arms, watching their child…or someday _children_…play with their toys on a nice summer day.

Finally, Daniel got the door opened and stood do the side so his daughter-in-law could step through. The house was everything the woman had ever dreamed of. The first thing she saw when she walked in was a little foyer where coats and hats were hung on hooks by the door. Through the doorway, she could see a beautiful wooden staircase curve up to the second floor. "Here Margaret, let me." Daniel helped the blond take off her coat and hung it on one of the hooks. She slipped off her wet shoes and walked through to the main hallway. There was a pretty big living room to the right (and it really _was_ painted a light blue with cherry-stained woodwork and soft white carpet), a medium sized den to the left, and the kitchen was straight ahead. A small bathroom/laundry room was in between the living room and kitchen.

"You're surprise is up here." The man started up the staircase and Margaret soon followed. When they reached the top of the stairs, Daniel gave her a small tour. The first door they came to, he opened and let her look inside, "That's what happens when a man doesn't have a woman for almost twenty years." He laughed. Margaret looked into the man's bedroom and chuckled at the mess. The bed wasn't made and there were clothes everywhere.

"Now I see where Hawkeye got his inspiration for the Swamp." She teased him.

Daniel closed his door and guided the woman to the next door, this one on the left. "This used to be Hawkeye's playroom when he was a kid. There's still a few of his old toys in a few of the boxes in the closet, but I fixed it up as best I could so you could have an extra room to do whatever you want with."

"That's very sweet of you." Margaret smiled, "I'll love it."

"Well, that's good, but it's not your surprise." The older man grinned and motioned towards two doors at the end of the hallway. "_These_ are your surprises."

"Surpris_es_?" Margaret looked well…surprised.

"Yep, now which one do you want to see first? Door Number One? Or Door Number Two?" He went into showroom display mode, pointing at the two doors. When the blond subtly pointed to the first door, he nodded. "Good choice. Now, close your eyes." Margaret closed her eyes and Daniel gently grabbed the woman's arm and lead her into the center of the room. He made a few very last minute adjustments and when he was satisfied with the appearance of the room, told her to open her eyes.

The mother-to-be gasped when she saw the room. "Oh my gosh." She turned around, looking at the whole room. The walls were painted a softer yellow than what the house was and looked beautiful when the sunlight from the big window bounced off of it. Around the ceiling was a border with pink and blue animal babies. A white crib stood under the window and a matching changing table was on the opposite wall. A pale green rocking chair stood in the corner and a bookshelf, already full of baby books, was in the other corner. A round, pale yellow rug covered the floor in the center of the room on top of the same type of soft white carpet that was in the living room downstairs. More pink and blue accessories, along with everything else a baby would need, were decoratively scattered throughout the room. Margaret was truly touched and her eyes became blurry with unshed tears of joy. "I don't know what to say…this is…this is wonderful." She smiled appreciatively at her father-in-law. He went over to her and gave her a hug.

"I'm glad to do it for my grandbaby and his or her beautiful mother." He pulled away a little and wiped the tears from her cheeks like Hawkeye did.

"Thank you…so much." Her voice was husky from emotion.

"Would you like to see your other surprise?"

"Sure." She nodded.

Daniel guided the woman through the door and shut off the light on his way to the hall. "Close your eyes." He urged gently. When they were closed, he opened the door and lead her into the other room. After making the last minute adjustments once again, he let her open her eyes once more. When a huge smile formed on her face, he started with his explanation. "Believe it or not, this room used to look a lot like mine. It was _very_ messy and took me a week just to clean everything up!" he exaggerated. "But, I didn't think that you would really like sleeping in a very manly room, so I fixed it up a bit for you."

"It's very nice Daniel, I love it." She looked around at the light turquoise walls. They were a beautiful color and looked wonderful with the all new white furniture.

"Well I'm glad you like it." He smiled proudly. "Now, why don't you do whatever you want to do…Help yourself to anything in the kitchen, 'freshen up' as you ladies like to say, do whatever you want and I'll bring your luggage in from the garage.

Margaret sighed in relief. She _really_ wanted to take a shower and the last thing she ate was in a mad dash to get to her other flight in San Francisco. Daniel let himself out of his daughter-in-law's room and started hauling stuff into the house.

Margaret wasn't exactly sure how she was going to take a shower without any of her shower supplies (they were still in her footlocker), but found that Daniel had already supplied her bathroom with all of the basic necessities including the shampoo and conditioner she normally used, and even a new bathrobe like what she had at the 4077th. (He had written a letter to Hawkeye, asking about what all he needed to get for the first woman to have lived in the house since his late wife died, when his son was only a little over nine years old.)

After taking a long shower, Margaret went back into her bedroom and noticed her suitcases and footlocker. She dug through them to find her pajamas and put them on, even if it _was_ only five o'clock in the afternoon. She was exhausted and thought about crawling in bed right then and there, but decided she needed to eat something. The expecting mother put on her robe and walked downstairs and headed for the kitchen. It was a big kitchen with a dining room attached. The walls were white and so were the cupboards. The woman was able to find the bread and some other ingredients to make herself a sandwich and ate it hungrily. Daniel came into the kitchen and made himself a cup of coffee, offering a cut to his son's wife. "No thanks." She shook her head. "If you don't mind, I think I'm going to go upstairs and go to bed. I'm exhausted."

"I'm sure you are." He nodded in understanding, "Good night."

"You too." And with that, Margaret went upstairs and crawled into bed. Her heart sunk, knowing that she wouldn't be able to lay her head on Hawkeye's chest for awhile and wondered how she would ever be able to get to sleep without listening to his heartbeat or feeling his skilled hands rub her back, lulling her to sleep. She adjusted the pillows so they were parallel to her under the blankets. Wrapping her arms around them, she laid her head where Hawkeye's chest would be and tried to sleep, but it wasn't the same. The tears soon came and she wanted nothing but to be back at the 4077th.

A couple hours later, a thought dawned on her. She forgot to call her husband when she got home. Jumping out of bed, Margaret made her way downstairs. Seeing that Daniel was in his study, she knocked on the door. "Yeah?" He called.

"Can I use your phone?" She asked.

"Well of course, you don't have to ask. This is your home now too." He got up from his desk and opened the door. "Gonna call Hawkeye?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Tell him I said hi."

"I will." Margaret walked into the kitchen and got the operator to place a call overseas. About ten minutes later, Radar answered the phone.

**MASH 4077th - Ouijambu, South Korea - 9:00 A.M.**

"4077th MASH." Radar had raced into the office from the O.R. and was a little breathless.

"Radar!" He heard the familiar voice on the other end.

"Oh hi sir." The corporal instantly had that nervous edge in his voice. "I suppose you want to talk to Captain Pierce?"

"Very much so." Margaret replied.

Radar nodded, "I'll go get him. He's in surgery right now, but he was almost done when I went in there." He set the receiver down on the desk and ran back into the O.R. "Captain Pierce?" The young man called.

Hawkeye looked up from where he stood over his patient, "You better have my discharge papers with you."

"No sir, but the Major's on the phone." This got everyone's attention.

"I'll take over for you Hawk, go talk to your wife." BJ took off his gloves and got new ones to replace them and walked over to his friend's table.

"Thanks." Hawkeye took off his own gloves and hurried to the office and picked up the phone. "Margaret?"

"Hawkeye!" She sounded relieved to hear his voice. "How's it going? I heard you were in surgery."

"Not too bad, there's only a few more patients left in this wave. They're expecting another in a few hours."

"I just wanted to say that I love you…and that I got home safe." Margaret knew that she shouldn't take up much time since her husband should probably get back to surgery.

"How do you like Crabapple Cove?" Hawkeye asked.

She didn't know why, but her voice cracked with emotion, "It'll be perfect to raise our family."

"It sure will." The surgeon wanted nothing but to be in his hometown with his wife, showing her around the town. "So when are you getting your tour?"

"Your dad said he'd give me a tour tomorrow. I can't wait to see the rest of this place. He also said he was going to take me to the Lobster Shack."

Hawkeye sighed, "You'll send me the leftovers right?"

"I'll try." Margaret chuckled, "But what makes you think there'll be leftovers?"

"Just wishful thinking is all." After a short pause, he asked what he was dieing to know, "How do you like Dad?"

"He's a wonderful man. I can't wait to get to know him."

"Trust me," Hawkeye replied, teasing his wife, "he's very easy to get to know…it only took me a few years."

"Your incurable." Margaret sounded bitter, but Hawkeye knew a smile was on her face.

There was a pause and Hawkeye sighed once more, his heart feeling like it was being squeezed. "I love you so much. I don't know how I'll get through the end of this war without you…"

"We'll make it." Margaret's voice broke once more and sounded husky, "You have friends there that'll help you through it all…you're strong."

"I hope you're right." There was another pause, "Honey I'm sorry but I have to go. They're gonna cut us off here in a minute."

"I understand. Just…be careful." She wiped the tears away from her eyes, but her vision was still blurry with the unshed tears.

"Tell junior I said hi."

"I will." The mother-to-be subconsciously placed her hand on her stomach, feeling the small bump of her unborn child. "Tell everyone there I said hi."

"Will do…I love you." Hawkeye's voice was also husky with emotion.

"I love you too." Before she could say anything else, their line was cut off and it grew silent.

Hawkeye put the receiver back in the bag and rubbed his eyes…How was he going to get through all of this without her?

**Back in Crabapple Cove**

Margaret hung up the phone and rubbed her eyes. She pushed stood up and pushed in the chair she was sitting at, at the table. Without another thought, she went upstairs and crawled back in bed. After laying her head on the pillow, she reached down and rubbed her stomach. Looking down at her slightly swollen stomach she whispered, "Your dad says hello…he loves you very much…" The tears came once again and she finally fell asleep, dreaming about being back in her husband's arms.

**Hope you liked this chapter. I know it was a little dry, but I thought that the town needed a good description. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up by next Sunday! Sorry it took so long to update. LOTS of things happened this weekend so it was a little difficult to write that much. Tell me what you thought. Thanks for reading!**


	13. A Letter From Home

_Author's Note: Thanks for all of your wonderful reviews! They really mean a lot. I also wanted to say that for my Computation class, I had to write a narrative about something significant in my life and how it changed me. Being the MASH obsessed person I am, I wrote about 'Stuck in the Cove'. So, I'd like to tell you that whoever reviewed for 'Stuck in the Cove' potentially helped me write that paper! The last lines were: 'Whenever I have that common feeling that I'm not good at ANYTHING, I just think about my story and all of the reviews I received. Then I think that maybe, just maybe I really am good at something.' So, thank so much for your support. I just wanted to say that you helped me out a lot in that little self confidence department. :-D But, enough of my drabble. Here's what you've been waiting for! Not my wishy washy school stories!_

**Chapter 13**

Hawkeye hated the war even more so now than he did before. He found himself going to bed each night, (if it was a night that he _could_ go to bed without being interrupted by the steady stream of incoming wounded), and laying there for hours just staring up at the canvas ceiling. Sometimes it helped to just hold Margaret's hat for a moment, feeling the soft fabric and smelling the slight aroma that thankfully still lingered on the fabric. Other nights, he still needed the extra pillow, and on the worst nights he went to take the other shifts at Post-Op, relieving the doctor that had been working before to go get some more well-deserved rest, all to try to take his mind off of things.

His mind always seemed to race when he wasn't doing anything, and the moments before he fell asleep definitely fell into that category. Then, his thoughts would end up in his dreams and give him either very nice dreams about being home with Margaret and being able to see the daily growth of his unborn child, or horrible nightmares about one of the things that he had become most worried about.

On this particular night in late February, Hawkeye and BJ were sitting in the Swamp and Charles had the night shift. The chief surgeon decided to stay 'home' and write back to Margaret's most recent letter. BJ received a letter from Peg the day before and hadn't had time to write back yet either. The 4077th had been bombarded with a steady stream of wounded for two days and this had been the first break for anyone who wasn't on duty.

"I understand perfectly now…" Hawkeye sighed over his martini glass in one hand, looking at his letter in the other hand over the drink. His statement was directed towards the man on the other side of the tent in the same position.

"What's that?" BJ asked, looking over to his friend.

"Why you're so obsessive over your letters. Why you read them over and over again. Why sometimes I catch you smelling them…everything." The dark-haired surgeon absentmindedly brought the envelope to his nose, the sweet vanilla almost making him want to cry.

"Lilacs?" The other surgeon asked.

"Vanilla." Hawkeye corrected him, "The perfume I bought her in Seoul."

BJ smelled his envelope to see what scent his wife left on his. "Mine smells like Moonlit Path," he smiled, "I can't believe she has any left. I bought it for her as a little surprise when she was about five months pregnant with Erin."

Hawkeye took a sip of his martini, putting the letter down on his lap and looking over at his friend once more. "What was it like?"

"To be honest, I couldn't stand that smell at first but after I got used to it I didn't mind-"

"Not what I meant Captain Wiseapple." Hawkeye interrupted an amused smile on his face that grew serious. "I meant," he spoke slowly, thinking about his words, "what was it like to see your child grow inside of your wife and know that your love for her helped create a little person?" He shook his head, "I must sound like Radar, but do you know what I mean?"

BJ nodded, "I think I know what you're talking about." A concerned look spread across his face. "You're afraid the war won't end before Margaret has the baby aren't you?"

"That and something else that I really don't feel like going into right now…" The first-time-father-to-be downed the rest of his martini and tried to read his letter again, not really looking at the words, but out of the corner of his eye he was watching BJ look at him with a confused expression.

"Sometimes it feels better if you talk about it…you know that."

Hawkeye looked up from his wife's familiar, but sometimes barely legible, handwriting. "I know," he sighed.

BJ drank the rest ofhis martini and got up to refill the glass. When Hawkeye refused the offered refill, BJ knew something was up…more than just nostalgia. "Hawk, what is it? I wanna help."

He was hesitant, but finally the chief surgeon exhaled in a sort of defeat. In a tone barely above a whisper, he replied, "I'm scared Beej." His eyes lost that sparkle for the time being.

"We all are…" The big-footed doctor replied quietly, trying to offer some help while finding an olive to drop into his drink.

Hawkeye stood up and started pacing the floor. "It's not just a little fear either. I've had nightmare upon nightmare about it and it never goes away!"

Returning to his seat on the cot, BJ asked, "What's the nightmare about?"

"Henry." Was the man's quiet reply. When he returned to his own Army issue cot from the middle of the room, he explained, "Henry's son was born while he was here, you know…?" After a nod from BJ, Hawkeye put his head in his hands and ran his fingers through his hair before continuing. "Then when he got his discharge and was LEAVING he was killed. He was done with the war! Why did they have to do that to Henry?! He never got to meet his son!" Hawkeye's emotions were getting the better of him. His voice rose in anger, to no one in particular except maybe to the enemy, but no one in the general proximity of the tent. Realizing that he was yelling, he got up again and poured himself another martini. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't worry about it." The doctor with the sand-colored hair replied, knowing what his friend was getting at.

Hawkeye sighed, "I want to be there for Margaret when it's time for the baby to be born so bad, but the peace talks aren't getting anywhere and nothing seems to be going right. We're just here for reasons I'm not sure anyone except for those morons up at I-Corps knows! And who knows if _they_ know?!" He plopped back down on his cot and took a sip of his drink. "We're working in the O.R. and Radar comes in, telling me that he found my discharge papers in the mail that morning…" his voice and gaze seemed distant, "I got all my points…the next thing I know, I'm telling Margaret all about it on the phone and she sounds so happy and I can hear that she's crying for joy but trying to hide it. I blink and I'm in a plane, seeing the Sea of Japan come closer and closer and all of a sudden it's like I run into a brick wall…"

"You'll get home Hawk. We all will. You'll meet your kid, too."

"I hope you're right."

"I always am," was BJ's simple reply. "You know, I'm starving…I didn't get to supper tonight. I'm gonna go to the mess tent, maybe they have some extra stuff out. Wanna join me?"

Hawkeye picked up the letter from Margaret again, "No that's okay." With that, BJ left the Swamp and the chief surgeon was alone to read his letter and write his reply in peace. Before he unfolded the paper again, he brought it up to his nose once more to take in the sweet vanilla scent. When he opened it up, he savored every word although he had already read it about five times since he received it.

_Dear Ben,_

_How is everything going? I hope you are okay. I miss you so much and so does your father. I just love you so much and am still not sure that I'll be able to get by without you. My heart seems to twist every time I think about you, but on to a happier note. Have you heard anything about the peace talks yet? I know…maybe the peace talks aren't _that_ much happier of a subject, but I'm just hoping you'll be able to come home soon._

_I'm still getting along great with your father. He is very sweet, but a little overprotective. You must get it from him, right? Haha. Take the other day for example. I asked him if I could get a job at his little clinic and we ended up having a debate about it! It was all in fun though and we ended up laughing about it. He thought that I should just stay home and rest, but I was getting tired of feeling like I was depending on someone else. I guess I was, but I felt useless and wanted to get back to work. He finally decided that I was too stubborn to take no for an answer and said that he couldn't think of anyone with more experience for the head nurse job at the clinic. I told you that Betty retired last week, didn't I? Anyway, you are now 'talking' to the new head nurse of the Crabapple Cove Clinic and I absolutely love my new job._

_I started working this Monday and by Tuesday, the other nurses and I were already having some fun with your father. My idea of course. Chelsea and Suzie switched two of the charts that were in the boxes outside the doors of the exam rooms. One was Mr. Omak's and the other was Mrs. Lindy's. Just to make sure he was paying attention, you see. I was in the room with old Mr. Omak when he came in after grabbing the chart. Well, he took one look at the chart and the look on his face was unbelievable. Mrs. Lindy was in for 'woman problems' and when your dad read the description she had given to the receptionist, he looked up at Mr. Omak and kept opening his mouth like he was going to say something! It was priceless when Mr. Omak crossed his legs and pretended to smooth out an imaginary skirt. (We had let him in on the joke of course.) I started laughing so your father looked at the chart more closely to see that it wasn't Mr. Omak's in the first place! Haha! I have a feeling that that place is going to be a lot of fun to work at._

_It's been a whole page and a half since I told you that I love you…so, I love you! Just thought I'd add that in there._

_I'm writing from the nursery now and thinking of our future together. I can't wait for you to get home. I have a feeling that the baby's anxious for you to come home too. I'm showing a little more now and I can't wait to feel the baby move. Everyone's telling me, and I guess I already knew from nursing school, that I'll have to wait a few more weeks to be able to feel it, but I'm hoping it starts kicking earlier. I just wish you were here to share this with me…_

_Although I really do love this little town of yours, I still find myself waking up every morning and wanting to be back at the 4077__th__. Not necessarily for the living conditions, the 24 hour shifts, the dysentery, the shelling, the food, the wounded, or any of the bad stuff. I just miss the people like crazy. Tell everyone I said hi and give them all hugs for me. Even Radar. _

_If I kept going with this letter, it would probably end up to be twenty pages, but supper is almost ready and I'm starving. Your father's cooking is wonderful by the way. He told me that you're a pretty good cook too. Why didn't you ever tell me that? Well, just keep this in mind: I love you so much and miss you like crazy. I know you will anyway, but write me back! _

_With all my love,_

_Margaret_

_PS: I still haven't been able to find a pillow that feels anything like you. Maybe the Red Cross will let you come home so I can get one custom made? I wish…_

Hawkeye smiled at his wife's letter, not knowing whether to laugh again or to plan his escape to the states. He reached over and set his martini glass on the side table before grabbing the pad of paper that sat next to it and the pen on top.

_Dear Margaret,_

_I'm alright, but I could be better. Actually, I know _exactly_ what would make me better. I just want to see you again so badly and hold you in my arms and wake up next to you every morning. This just isn't fair, being so far away from you. Just remember that I love you very, very much. Thanks again for leaving your hat. It really helps on the bad nights… And I'm still trying to find a pillow that feels like you too._

He decided to be optimistic for his wife in the next part, although he worried about it himself.

_We haven't really heard much with the peace talks, but I have a feeling that I'll be home before our child is born. I must have asked BJ about a hundred times what it's like to be a father and each time I get more and more excited. I don't want to scare you, and it really shouldn't, but I've been having some pretty bad dreams lately. I've been thinking a lot about Henry and each time I do I get another horrible feeling. I'm just so afraid that when I'm able to go home, something will happen. Henry didn't expect that anything would happen to him and no one does but it happens, especially in war time. But please don't worry. I have a feeling that I'll be here until the war is over, but my biggest feeling is that the war will be over before our little bundle of joy arrives to the world. _

_But, as you said, onto happier subjects! I can't believe you three did that to poor old dad! Haha! I wish I could have seen the look on his face when he saw that Mr. Omak was having 'woman problems'. Somehow it doesn't surprise me that you were behind all of that though. What are you three going to do next? I can't wait to hear about your tricks on him, and I'm so glad that you seem to have made friends in my little neck of the woods and still like living in the middle of nowhere._

_I'm so happy you like working at the clinic but, and don't kill me because of this, I would kind of have to side with Dad. Don't you think you should be getting plenty of rest? Are you working all day or just part time? I don't think it's wrong that you got a job at the clinic. I respect that very much, but don't you think that with me as the father, that that baby will be a handful? I'll be there to help, but you should rest while you still can! Oh Honey, I'm just kidding. Really! I think it's great that you took over Betty's job, although I don't remember you telling me that she was retiring. She's been there since I was a kid! I wonder how old she is? But, I'm very proud of you Margaret. I know you'll be the best nurse Crabapple Cove has ever seen._

_It's been a page since I've told you I love you so I'll say it again! Last night, I had a short break from the O.R. so I went outside and looked up at the stars. Seeing how many of them there were, I matched up each one to another reason why I love you. I was doing pretty good until I ran out of stars… I'd love to see that smile that I know is on your face right now._

_Have I told you very much about our new head nurse yet? She had just arrived by the time I was closing my last letter to you and I might have put a little bit of information about her in the post script, but to be honest with you, I wish that was all I knew about her. Major Elsie Starks is one heck of a pain in the butt. She's even worse than you were when you first got here! (And I think you were only like that because of that stupid Ferret Face. I also didn't understand you back then either.) She's horrible. She treats everyone like dirt and thinks she's better than everyone else. Her nose is always so far in the air, we're afraid a bird will try to squeeze into it and start building a nest! Not so sure that'd be a bad thing though. She's in her early twenties and about 5'1". She, quite honestly, looks like her bones would break if you so much as said "BOO!" really loud! She's not even that good of a nurse. She's always handing me the wrong instruments in surgery and even has to step outside for air every ten minutes or else she'll 'faint'. The only reason why she got this position is because her daddy is a big general in Tokyo. God, I wish you were here… You'd set that girl straight! She is, however, taking quite a shine to Major Winchester. I don't know what she sees in him, but if I'm not missing my guess, he's taking quite a shine to her as well. _

_I can't wait to see the nursery and also our room. I'm sure Dad did a great job on them. I wish I could be there with you when you first feel the baby kick, but I don't exactly see it happening… I'm guessing that since he or she is our child, he'll be impatient and start kicking sooner than normal. Haha._

_Consider everyone hugged and said "hi" to. Radar will be glad to hear you thought of him. Everyone really misses you as well. Colonel Potter told me to tell you that he's anxious to see pictures of his honorary daughter in civilian life. I'm looking forward to pictures of you too. _

Hawkeye sighed as he heard the 'thump thump thump' of chopper blades. And started writing faster.

_I have to go now Honey, choppers just flew in, but I'm thinking about you always. Tell the baby I said I love him…or her, and I love you too. _

_Always yours,_

_Ben_

_PS: The only reason why I never told you that I'm a 'good' cook is because I'm not. I'm _okay_ at French Toast, but that's it! I burn everything else!_

He quickly stuffed the letter into an envelope and wrote his home address on the front before grabbing his coat and running out to triage, handing Radar the letter so it could make its journey to the states and into the hands of the woman that the chief surgeon loved more than anything else in the world.

**I know this chapter wasn't the best and I'm sorry that not much happened in it, but I'm kind of struggling with a bit of writer's block and, to be honest…laziness! Sorry! I think I'll be able to get a better chapter up next weekend though! Tell me what you think! :-D And, as always, thanks for the reviews!**

**I'd also like to thank Lissy for all of her help! THANK YOU!**


	14. Letters and Dreams

_Author's Note: Here you go, your weekly update! Hope you like it! I'd also like to say that some of this chapter was inspired by the episode: 'Where There's a Will, There's a Way' so some credit needs to go to the writers of that episode: David Pollock and Elias Davis. Also, I would like to give some (okay a lot of) credit to Carrie Underwood since her song 'Just a Dream' gave me the idea for Margaret's dream…and, if you've seen the music video, it's a lot like it! So, sorry 'bout that. Okay, enjoy!_

**Chapter 14**

**Battalion Aid Station**

Hawkeye wasn't usually this scared when he had to go to the front, but this time was different. The battalion aid station had lost a surgeon a few days before and he was now the replacement until the new surgeon came. The explosions in the background were making the hair on the back of his neck stand up and when the shelling was getting closer, he felt like running, but he knew he had a job to do. He was becoming jumpier and more nervous with every minute and when the last wounded soldier was put into the ambulance, he felt like he was going to jump out of his skin at the next explosion.

When a shell came too close to comfort, he sought shelter under a table by the wall. He was just thankful that the other surgeon was too wrapped up in his book to notice. It amazed him how the people that were stationed at the aid stations were pretty much used to the shell fire. The other man was at a table where the radios were. Hawkeye kept hoping that the phone would ring and the young sergeant would tell him that he could go back to the 4077th. The MASH unit was safer than the aid station, and that was saying a lot.

The visiting surgeon reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the four pictures that Margaret had sent him in her last letter, the other three sat on his footlocker back at the 4077th. His eyes softened and a small smile complemented his handsome features, looking at his wife's beautiful face and. Looking down towards the bottom of the picture he noticed that she had defiantly started to look pregnant. Her stomach was rounded and she looked absolutely radiant. Hawkeye's heart seemed to twist since he wanted to be with her so bad. He gently rubbed his thumb over the picture, imagining what it would be like if he could actually touch her again at that moment…to be home with her. He knew why he was so jumpy…he was afraid that something would happen to him and didn't want to think about how that would affect Margaret. He had seen her hurt and would give anything to protect her from being hurt again. Then there was the fact that if something happened to him, he wouldn't be able to see his child. He just didn't know what would tare him up more…

Another shell went off and Hawkeye quickly looked up. The other two men were still in the same position as they were, not really bothered by the loud noises and the shaking of the building…if you could really call it a building. Outside walls had been knocked out, presumably by mortar attacks, and the thin ceiling was falling down around them. In the sudden flash of light, he saw a clipboard on the ground with a couple blank sheets of paper under the clamp. He hurried to grab it and sat back under the table. He put the picture of his beautiful wife back in his pocket, grabbed a pen, and started to write a letter to the woman he was thinking a_ lot_ about.

**Crabapple Cove, Maine - A Week Later - March 18**

"Hey Margaret, there's a letter here for you!" Daniel walked into his daughter-in-law's small office at the Crabapple Cove Clinic.

Margaret was typing up her paperwork on her typewriter at her desk. The beautiful blond looked rather tired, but perked up as soon as she heard her 'boss' announcing there was a letter for her. The tone in his voice instantly told her that it was a letter from Hawkeye. "Really?" she asked excitedly.

"Yep," Daniel handed her the white envelope with the familiar writing on it. "I stopped at home quick on my way back from the bakery and picked up the mail. Funny thing, my _son_ never seems to write to his _father_ anymore!" He looked like he was really contemplating the statement, but a knowing smile spread across his face. "At least he tells you to say 'hi' for him."

The head nurse laughed, standing up and moving to lean on the front of her desk while Daniel went over to the small couch that sat at the opposite side of the room. "By the way, Hawkeye says 'hi'." she shot back, opening her husband's letter, her hands trembling with excitement.

Her father-in-law just laughed at her wisecrack. "Fine, you don't get any donuts then." He joked.

The mother-to-be laid a hand on her swollen stomach and made the most pitiful look she could muster, although it wasn't working too well with her lips twitching, trying to hold back her laughter. "You're going to let the mother of your grandchild starve?"

"Of course not." Daniel chuckled at his son's wife's expression. He got up and handed a small white, paper sack to the woman, "They were practically _giving_ these away for some reason. Can't understand why…" he rolled his eyes sarcastically.

Looking in the bag, Margaret smiled, "Perfect! Just what I was craving." She reached in and took out the pickle-cream donut. "I didn't think you'd be able to find these anywhere."

The old, grey-haired doctor shook his head, "It's a good thing that Mary just had her baby. Now she knows what to make for the expecting mothers in town." Mary Johansson co-owned the bakery with her husband and just had a little boy about month earlier.

Margaret took a few bites of the donut, each time saying how good it was. It took all he had for the doctor to not gag, but he just tried to remember that the odd cravings would only last for another four months since Margaret was now about five months along. He remembered having to run to the different stores when his late wife was expecting Hawkeye. She would get cravings that were even stranger than Margaret's, but he made sure to put an effort into getting what she wanted, knowing that she very much deserved to be pampered.

Daniel excused himself to go attend to the last patients of the day, and when Margaret finished her donut, she quickly remembered the letter from her husband. She licked her fingers quick, making sure she got every last crumb of the (to her) delicious pastry and wiped her hands on one of the napkins that was in the bag with the donut. Grabbing the letter, she went over to the couch and laid down before unfolding it and reading her husbands familiar, and almost comforting handwriting.

_Dear Margaret,_

_When this letter gets to you, I'll be back from the Battalion Aid Stations from a mission of mercy. I'm writing this while cowering under a table and right now there aren't any wounded here. There were quite a few earlier, but we patched them up as best we could and put them on a bus for home. Well the 4077__th__, but you know what I mean. I just wanted to let you know that I'll be thinking even more about you for the next few hours or more. Of course, I'm not sure if it's possible to think of you more than I already do! But, I'm thinking about you so much and am also thinking about how nice it will be when I'm able to hold you in my arms again. But please, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. You have enough to worry about!_

Margaret's stomach seemed to do a flop. After she was done reading the letter, she would try to get through to the 4077th to make sure Hawkeye had returned safely to the camp. She wanted to make sure he was okay…or know if he had been hurt. She knew that if the worst had happened, she would have been informed by now, but thinking about that put an instant, massive lump in her throat and unshed tears in her eyes. She blinked the tears away, laid a hand on her stomach and kept reading.

_How's the job at the clinic going? What have you done to poor old Dad now? I told BJ all about you, Chelsea, and Suzie pulling that trick on Dad and he almost fell out of his cot, he was laughing so hard. Colonel Potter said it sounded just like something you would think of, though!_

_Speaking of Colonel Potter, he was very grateful to see those pictures you sent. Of course, I was too. I think you look so beautiful, Margaret and Potter definitely agrees with me, and so do the other tons of people that I've showed over here. I can't help but to show off my beautiful wife! The pictures may be in black and white, but I know you're absolutely glowing. You also had that look I love on you. You know the one I mean…the one I told you that you had quite a few times before you even left the good 'ole 4077__th__? That perfectly content twinkle in your icy blue eyes and that absent minded smile. Not that I'm saying you looked absent minded, I'm just saying that the smile on your face looked like you didn't have a care in the world. You should keep that smile on your face… It's so beautiful and right now I'm just hoping that you won't get too stressed out about me being over here. It's not good for you _or_ the baby. _

_How's our little guy or girl, by the way? Have you felt it kicking yet? It should be around the right time to start feeling that. God, I wish I could be there… I hope you're getting off your feet once in a while and have you started working part time yet? In your last letter, you said you were thinking about it. I'm just kind of worried about you overdoing it Honey. I know you're not one for just sitting around, but I wish you would just take it easy while you still can._

Margaret gently patted her baby bump. She didn't really know if she had felt the baby kick yet or not. A few days earlier, she felt something and thought it was just indigestion, but when she thought about it more, she wondered if it was the baby. She couldn't wait until she could be sure though. After a content sigh, she read on.

_I'd like to say that this war is coming to a close Margaret, but I really don't know anymore. The peace talks were going pretty good as far as peace talks are concerned, but now they've seemed to slow down so much, they've almost come to a screeching halt. I guess they're supposed to start up again here shortly, but I don't know how long it will take them to end this stupid war. I'm still optimistic about being home before our child is born, however. I've even written a letter to Harry S. Truman about all of this, but he hasn't replied yet. I wonder why…? _

The nurse swallowed hard. She had been listening to the news on the radio every day and knew the peace talks were going horribly. There was still hope that Hawkeye would be home before their baby was born and she made sure to hang on to that thought.

_You can't believe how relieved I am to be away from that Elsie Starks for awhile. Yesterday I went into Colonel Potter's office to complain about her for the millionth time since she's come here. He agrees that she's a horrible nurse and he's getting her transferred out of here! But, before we reached that part of the conversation, I pretty much ended up fighting with the Colonel! I just got so angry with Starks that I took it out on him: "A spineless, brain-drained, north end of the southbound mule." I felt horrible after I said it but he just nodded and laughed a little. He explained to me how he knew exactly what was going on and how much he hated the woman as much as I did and he even showed me her transfer orders! Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy! He went into 'father-mode' shortly there after and told me all about how I would never be able to find a nurse that I liked as much as I liked the first one…As if I couldn't figure that out. Then he said that, even if we had the second best nurse in the whole U.S. Army, I would still think she was horrible. Everyone misses you here so much and the camp just isn't the same without you._

_Honey, I hate to have to close this letter, but just know that I love you more than anything else in the world. Tell Dad I said "hi" and also that I'll write to him sometime. I just keep forgetting to write to my own father. See how good of a son I am? Haha. No, I'm just kidding. I'm not _that _bad of a son! Tell him I love him for me too. And also tell Junior, of course. Remember to call or write me the moment he or she starts kicking and don't worry if it would only be three o'clock in the morning here. I'll be glad to hear _anything_ from you at _any_ time. And take it easy!_

_Forever Yours,_

_Ben_

The mother-to-be gave a silent prayer, hoping that her husband was okay. She looked at her plaque bracelet and whispered the words, "Until the last rose dies…" The nurse reached up and wiped away a single tear when she moved her gaze over to the silk rose on the bookshelf. She was going to get up and go over to her desk to call the 4077th, but the sleepless night, caused by a rather good book she had been reading (Daniel had suggested The Last of the Mohican to her when he saw her trying to find a book the other night), caught up with her and she was fast asleep before she even set the letter down.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Margaret didn't know where she was for a moment. She realized that she was behind the huge backyard of her new home, outside of the picket fence and closer to the cliff. A smile spread across her face when she saw her husband in his class A uniform, standing next to BJ and Father Mulcahy. Looking down, she saw that she was wearing a beautiful white wedding dress. She was still pregnant, but the dress flowed beautifully over her rounded stomach. Hawkeye smiled back at her, watching her walk towards him._

_Suddenly Margaret felt the strong urge to cry… When she looked back down at her dress, she realized that it was slowly turning black from the bottom and the long train of white fabric behind her was shrinking. Her roses were turning black as well and the crowd of people that were in the two aisles sat down and bowed their heads. Margaret looked around in a total state of shock, wondering what was going on. She looked back up to where her husband was standing and couldn't find him. Her legs felt like rubber as she kept going forward, walking down the aisle. She was confused, but knew whatever was going on wasn't good. Suddenly, she let out a sob, seeing a large wooden box on a stand at the end of the aisle. It was about seven feet long and two feet tall. Now she knew what was going on now, and before she knew it, she was standing by the box…a coffin. _

_Reaching out, she touched the coffin and started crying harder. Daniel came up beside her and laid a hand on her shoulder. Margaret looked back at her father-in-law and saw the tears on his cheeks and his red, swollen eyes. She drew in a shaky breath and Daniel pulled her in so she could cry on his shoulder. "This can't be happening…" She sobbed._

"_I know…" He hugged his daughter-in-law to him and stared at his son's coffin, not believing it himself._

_Margaret felt like a bullet had pierced her heart. She looked at the black roses in her hand and reached out to lay them on the coffin. One of them was still red, however and when she felt it, even through her black glove she could tell it was her silk rose. "Until the last rose dies, Hawkeye…" she whispered._

_BJ then walked over with a folded flag and, after giving the young widow a hug, handed it to her. "I'm sorry Margaret."_

_The crying blond smiled as best she could and nodded ever so slightly, "Thank you Beej." She gave him another hug as he went to sit down. She held the flag close to her, feeling like it was the last tie to her husband…then she looked down at her stomach and instantly started sobbing again, thinking about her child…_their_ child. And how it would never know his or her father…_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Margaret…Margaret!" Daniel had heard his daughter-in-law sobbing in her office and instantly thought the worst. He was now kneeling by the couch, gently shaking his head nurse's shoulder. "Margaret, wake up. It was just a dream."

Margaret bolted upright and panted, trying to catch her breath. She wiped the tears away and looked around the room, confused. "What time is it?" her voice was barely above a whisper.

"I left you about half an hour ago so you could read your letter in peace. It's about 5:30" The doctor's eyes washed over with concern, "What happened Margaret?"

She shook her head in embarrassment, "Nothing, I'm fine…" She got up off the couch and went over to her desk.

"Do you often cry like that in your sleep when you're _fine_?"

"I just had a bad dream is all. I'll get over it." Margaret was being her normal, stubborn self.

Daniel went to the closet by the couch and grabbed the nurse's coat. "Well, why don't we go home. I was about ready to close up for the night."

"Right." She quickly rounded up the things she'd need to take home and put her coat on. When she grabbed her letter from the floor, she remembered what she was going to do. She was going to call from her office, but decided that she could wait until they got home. She'd give Hawkeye a few more minutes of sleep, seeing as how it would only be six in the morning there.

About five minutes later, the two people were walking up the front steps of the big, yellow, Victorian house. The weather was better than it had been for the past few weeks and the flowers that lined the sidewalk were starting to bloom. Margaret had been unusually quite during the ride home and as soon as Daniel had opened the door, she hurried to the kitchen. "Can I use the phone again?" She called.

Daniel shook his head and smiled, "How many times do I have to tell you, you can use it whenever you want!" He called to her from the little entry way.

"Right." Margaret nodded. She was so used to having to ask Radar if he could put a call through for her that she forgot she could do it herself, or that she didn't really need to _ask_ about doing it.

"Hello?" The operator's voice was soft and sweet.

"Hi Sarah." The blonde sat on the stool under the phone, "I'd like to place an oversees call, if you don't mind." She had met Sarah a couple times at the clinic and considered the young woman one of her friends.

Sarah laughed, "Of course I don't mind, Margaret! Hold on, this could take awhile."

"I'll be here." She waited, and waited. Finally, after about ten minutes, the phone started ringing.

**MASH 4077****th**** - Ouijambu, South Korea - March 19**

The phone started ringing at about six o'clock in the morning. Colonel Potter was in his office and grabbed the phone, allowing Radar to have a little more time to sleep. He hardly ever got to 'sleep in' past five o'clock, but since the C.O. figured that the young man had a hangover from last night's party that the enlisted men had, he'd let the Corporal sleep it off a little more.

"4077th MASH." Colonel Potter greeted whoever was on the other line.

"Colonel Potter!" Margaret's voice showed how much she was glad to hear the familiar voice.

"Major Pierce, is that you?" The Colonel had the same, excited tone in his voice. "How have ya been Margaret?"

"I'm alright Colonel, and I'd love to talk with you some more, but I really need to hear my husband's voice…please tell me he's okay."

"Well he's fine, Major. I'll go get him." The Colonel excused himself and headed over to the Swamp. "Pierce!" he went over to the man's cot and tried to wake him up.

"Radar, go away or I'll show you a new way to carry that clipboard of yours." Hawkeye mumbled, still half asleep.

"It's not Radar, Hawkeye. It's Colonel Potter. I just thought you'd like to talk to Margaret, she's on the phone." The C.O. then stood back and watched his chief surgeon get out of bed, grab his robe, and run out the door and towards the office before he could blink.

"Margaret!" Hawkeye picked up the phone, anxious to hear his wife's voice.

"Oh Hawkeye." As soon as she heard his voice, she choked up and felt like she was going to cry again. "I'm so glad to hear your voice."

"I'm glad to hear yours too, Honey." Hearing the slight crack in her voice, he asked, "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Ben, I just needed to know that you were okay. I got your letter. You told me not to worry, but how could I not?"

Hawkeye mentally hit his head with this hand. Why did he have to put all of the bad stuff into his letters? "Honey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you worried. I just thought you should know where I was."

"Hawkeye, it's okay. I'm glad you told me. But then after I read the letter, I fell asleep on the couch in my office at the clinic and had a horrible nightmare and I just _had_ to hear your voice."

"Want to talk about it?" Hawkeye asked, "It'll make you feel better."

Margaret could almost see the understanding smile on her husband's face. She told him everything that she remember about the dream she had had and when she was through, Hawkeye spoke softly, "I'm not going anywhere Margaret. I'll be there for you and our baby. There's no way I'm ever gonna let you be a widow, alright? And that's a promise."

"I'll hold you to that." Margaret chuckled.

"Good." Hawkeye sounded depressed when he went on, "I'm so sorry, but they're gonna cut us of, Margaret."

"I know, I just needed to hear your voice. I'll reply to your letter tomorrow okay? I have a lot of paperwork to do tonight still."

"I'll be waiting for it…I love you. Very, very, very much." he replied.

"I love you too." Each time she spoke to Hawkeye on the phone, it became increasingly difficult to say goodbye.

"Bye Honey."

"See ya." And with that, the line went dead.

Hawkeye put the phone back in the bag and leaned back in the chair, and sighed. It was going to be a long war…

**Okay, so as I said, Carrie Underwood and whoever wrote the song for her, needs to have a lot of credit for Margaret's dream. That music video makes me cry every time I see it and when I was writing her dream, I found my vision becoming increasingly foggy…lol. I know, I'm pathetic! Hope this'll tie you over until next weekend. Actually, next weekend I will be at Camp Foster for the Halloween camp, Mystery Madness, so I'll only have Sunday night and all of Monday to write. (I don't have school on Monday-THANK GOD!) So, I'll try to get chapter 15 up there next Monday! But, about this chapter, tell me what you thought! Thanks for reading!**


	15. Feeling it Move

_Author's Note: Okay, here ya go! You're weekly update! Sorry it's late. I was at Camp Foster having an amazing time and then school just sucks so therefore there's tons of homework. Ugh. Well, enough with my bellyaching, let's get on with the story, shall we? Where'd we leave off? Ah yes…_

**Chapter 15**

**That Night**

"Margaret? What are you doing up so late?" Daniel asked, walking into the dimly lit kitchen at about midnight.

Margaret sat in her pajamas and soft pink robe at the table. In front of her was a glass of milk that had been pretty much drank. "I couldn't get to sleep. I hope I didn't wake you up."

"Oh no, you didn't wake me up." Daniel chuckled, shaking his head and sitting down on the chair opposite his daughter-in-law. "I'm a light sleeper, but that doesn't matter much if you can't get to sleep in the first place." The blonde drank the rest of her milk and yawned, "Sleepy now?" the doctor asked.

"Yeah…I should probably get upstairs, I have to get up early to finish that paperwork." She rested her head in her hands on the table.

Daniel saw something in the woman's eyes that seemed a tad bit…suspicious, "_Couldn't_ get to sleep, or didn't _want_ to get to sleep?" he asked.

This struck Margaret by surprise. 'My God, he's like his son…' She sighed, but kept her stubborn stature, "What do you mean?" It was a worthless question, she knew he was on to her. He was beginning to be able to read her like an open book like Hawkeye could, almost from the time they met.

The aged carbon-copy of Hawkeye tightened his robe and looked across the table at the woman, "You were pretty shaken up by that dream."

"I'm not afraid to go to sleep, if that's what you're getting at." In all honesty though…she sort of was. She knew she needed to get to sleep so she could wake up early and finish her paperwork, but every time she closed her eyes, she saw her husband's casket and her dress turning black as she walked down the aisle…the aisle she never wanted to walk down.

"There's no shame in that." He knew that his son's wife was stubborn and wouldn't openly admit to being scared by a dream.

Another sigh came from the mother-to-be, "I know there's not shame in being scared, but by a _dream_? I feel like that little girl that used to run into her mom and dad's room every time she had a nightmare. That little girl has been through some pretty horrible things that could make _anyone_ scared, and now I can't to go to sleep because I'm afraid of my imagination…? Because of a stupid dream?!" Margaret looked away, embarrassed about showing her feelings. Her father-in-law nodded understandingly and patiently waited for her to speak again. "Every time I close my eyes, I see you and me at…at Ben's funeral and it scares the hell out of me."

"I wondered what that dream had been about."

"Yeah well…"

"Hawkeye's mother had some pretty horrible dreams like that when she was pregnant with him, but she said most of them weren't that bad…actually pretty good. Just, you know, hormones." He didn't exactly know what to say in this situation and usually he knew _exactly_ what to say.

"Ben's in a war zone, I probably would have had that dream, even if I _wasn't_ pregnant. I'm just so afraid of him not coming home…" Her voice broke with every word and now she was trying everything in the book to control the tears that she thought were sure to come. "I'm sorry…" Daniel cocked his head to the side in question. Margaret saw and explained, "I hate crying in front of people. I feel like I'm letting my guard down…"

With this, Daniel stood up and, after helping Margaret up, guided her up the stairs and tucked her in when she crawled into bed, much like a father would. "You look exhausted. Why don't you try to get some sleep?" He could see that it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to keep her eyes open.

"Why are you so nice to me when I'm such a pain in the behind?" the blonde asked through her tears.

Daniel laughed, "You're no pain in the behind. Now your husband on the other hand is different story." Seeing the mother of his grandchild laugh through the tears he added, "That's what I like to see. You have such a pretty smile." He bent down and laid a gentle, fatherly kiss on her forehead.

"I've hard that before." she smiled at him.

"I'm sure." He turned around and went to the door.

Before he shut it, Margaret stopped him, "Hey Daniel?"

"Yeah?"

"You never answered my question."

He chuckled, "Well, I always wanted a daughter… But, I don't think I could have asked for one better than you. Even if you are only my daughter _in law_."

Margaret didn't know what to say besides, "Thanks." Her father in law smiled and quietly shut the door, leaving her turquoise and white bedroom in pitch blackness.

She rolled over and turned her lamp on to look at the picture on her night stand. It was taken the night of her 4077th wedding and she and her husband were in the Officer's Club. Margaret was on Hawkeye's lap and the two of them had huge smiles on their faces. Hawkeye's, however, was harder to see since his mouth was pretty much covered my the mustache on his Groucho glasses. The present day Margaret touched the glasses that she had put under the picture and whispered, "Come home safe Hawk…" before turning out the light and, almost instantly, falling asleep.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"_Are you ever gonna come to bed?" Hawkeye asked from the white sheets of the double bed. _

_Margaret was still in the bathroom, getting ready for bed. She was almost done with her nightly hundred brush strokes through her beautiful golden hair. "I'll be there in a second." After twelve more strokes, she put her brush back on the vanity and stepped out of the bathroom. _

_The dark haired, handsome man smiled widely, "You're beautiful, you know that?"_

_She laid a hand on her stomach and rolled her eyes sarcastically, "Not beautiful, fat."_

"_No way." Hawkeye shook his head, opening his arms for his wife to crawl into. When she did, he squeezed her in a warm embrace and they both laid down under the soft down comforter. Margaret laid her head on his chest and listened to his heart beat, forever grateful that he was home and safe. He started rubbing her slightly rounded, five-month-along, stomach and she sighed with content. "Tired?" Her husband asked quietly, seeing that her eyes were closed. When she nodded slightly, he bent down and kissed her gently on the lips. "I love you."_

"_I love you too." She propped herself up onto her elbow to kiss him again and then reached over her 'favorite pillow' to turn out the lamp, seeing the Groucho glasses and their wedding picture before the room was thrown into darkness. She laid her head on his arm, her back towards him, and he kissed her neck, and then her ear which caused Margaret to giggle. When the parents-to-be were almost asleep, the blonde gasped._

_This worried Hawkeye terribly, "Margaret, what's wrong?!" he was close to panicking. _

"_Did you feel that?" She asked, her voice breathy with excitement._

"_Feel what?" Recognizing the excitement in his wife's voice, he decided that whatever made her gasp couldn't be too bad._

"_The baby!" She was now giggling and squealing, she was so excited. "I felt it move! I haven't felt that yet!"_

_Hawkeye was now excited too, "Really?!" he asked, moving his hand down and feeling his wife's stomach._

_Margaret moved Hawkeye's hand to where she had felt a light kick. "It kicked!" Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and when she looked over her shoulder, back at her husband, she saw the look of pure pride and happiness on his face._

_The father-to-be smiled even wider when he felt a very light tap on his palm when he lightly pressed down. "Hey, I felt it too!" Now it was the father's turn to sigh with content. He continued rubbing his wife's stomach as they fell asleep, talking about what the future would bring._

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

A soft ray of sun spilled in through the window of the, for now, newest Pierce's bedroom. She woke up smiling, thinking about the dream she had had. At first, she didn't think it _had_ been a dream, but when she looked behind her shoulder, expecting to see her husband and his look of pride and content, he wasn't there. Hoping like crazy that she had been dreaming about him _not_ being there, Margaret closed her eyes tight and opened them again…still no Hawkeye. She could feel the tears coming and didn't even try to hold them back. Burying her face into her pillows, she started crying, missing her husband more than ever, even more than she had the day before, after the horrible dream she had had. Laying a hand on her stomach, she was greeted by a soft, unexpected, kick.

This caused Margaret to smile slightly, still crying. "Hey you," she chuckled, feeling more like an expecting mother than she ever had before. She liked the feeling…even if she couldn't _entirely _share the feeling of parenthood with her husband yet.

**MASH 4077 - A Weeks Later**

"Pierce, _what_ is the problem?" Colonel Potter stood at his desk, a little impatiently.

Hawkeye paced back and forth in the CO's office, purely agitated. "It's that woman, she's so annoying! I thought she'd be gone by now!" He was, of course talking about Major Starks.

"What'd she do now?" Potter was pretty much used to everyone complaining about the head nurse nowadays. He missed Margaret like crazy…like everyone else.

"I've had to be on the same shift in Post-Op as her for a week. You know how aggravating that woman is?! She never does any of the work, she sits in the corner, doing her nails all night, and she never fills out her paperwork. Then whenever I ask her for some kind of help, she always has to go get another nurse. I'm really not sure how she even got to be a nurse in the first place."

Potter shook his head in understanding, "I've been trying to figure that out myself. But, she only has a week left here. Thank God."

The raven-haired man rolled his eyes, "You said that last week."

"Yes but her goody-goody-two-shoes dad decided to revoke transfer orders up at I-Corps to see if she could make it awhile longer."

"So how do we get rid of her?" Hawkeye smiled mischievously, obviously having a few ideas about how to 'get rid' of the pain in the butt nurse.

The Colonel chuckled, "Well I was thinking that maybe you could find what size she wears in cement kimonos…" The older man's face lit up with delight at being in on the joke. He usually was, but this was a pretty fun one to be in on.

"Really!?" The surgeon knew he was kidding, but going along with the cement kimono idea sounded like fun.

"Of course not. She decided that this job was too tough for her so her dad decided to get her out of here… Too bad we don't all have Generals for dads, huh?"

Hawkeye sighed, "Must be nice." He started towards the door, but was stopped by the man at his desk.

"Want a drink?" Sherman could see that his chief surgeon was having a bad day. He wasn't really himself. The cause of his fatherly worry turned around and sat down on one of the chairs in front of the desk. After pouring a shot of scotch and grabbing the fig newtons from the liquor cabinet, he looked at the tired looking man. "What's _really_ going on Hawkeye?"

"What are you talking about?"

"What's on your mind? Are you sure this is all about Elsie?"

The man sighed in defeat, "I don't know." His shoulders drooped, "Last night I uh…had this dream…about Margaret."

"Good or bad?"

"Depends on how you look at it. I mean, it was good, but then again it wasn't really…"

"Want to talk about it?"

After finishing the shot of scotch and the fig newton he had dunked in it, suggested by Colonel Potter awhile ago, he decided to elaborate a little. "I was still here, and we were in the O.R. when Radar came in. Most of the time, if that happens in a dream of mine, he's giving me my discharge papers and I end up dieing in a plane crash like Henry Blake. But, this time he was all panicky, telling me I had to get on the phone right away. Margaret went into labor and she was worried about being a month early. Obviously it took place a while down the road… So, I was on the phone with her, trying everything I could do to keep her calm and then phone cut out and I never really know what happened…"

The Colonel nodded, "I think I know now. You're worried that you'll be missing out on your child being born, right?"

"Very."

"I'm not gonna lie to ya, there's a chance that you might not be home by then, but there's also a chance that you will be."

"The chance that I _won't_ be is bigger though…" Hawkeye was about to say more, but was cut off by Radar, the mail bag slung over his shoulder, a white envelope in hand.

"Mail call sir!" The young man handed Hawkeye the envelope and the dark haired man's face instantly lit up.

Seeing this, the Colonel smiled himself, "Margaret?"

The man nodded, absorbed in the letter. Radar left to deliver the rest of the mail and, after he left Sherman could see that the expecting father was becoming a little emotional, obviously because of the piece of paper in hand. Hawkeye looked up, a few unshed tears in his eyes. "She felt it…"

Knowing that not much would make him feel better right now, including booze, Sherman decided he would try to congratulate the father-to-be, "Margaret felt the baby kick for the first time? That's great!" He sort of expected the reaction he got, however.

Hawkeye got up once more, "Yeah…real great. My wife's halfway around the world, crying all the time because I'm over here when she should be excited about all that's going on with her. Every time I get a letter from her, she says she cried for one reason or another, and not for much joy either." He was now pacing around the room, "This time, she _started_ crying because she was happy when the baby kicked, but it turned into her crying because I wasn't there to be with her when it happened! I've told her, I don't know _how_ many times, to try to be happy and that I'll be there with her as soon as I can, but I know she can't help it. What happens if…if I never go home? Then what'll she be like? Crying every time she sees our baby because something about it reminds her of me?" After shaking his head and running his hand through his unruly, yet gorgeous, head of hair, he looked back at his commanding officer, hurt in his eyes. "It sounds like I'm making this all about me, but I know how she is… She's a strong woman, sure, but needs _me_ and I need _her_ to get through it all. Me being over here isn't earning me points for the 'World's Best Husband' award and I'm sure as hell not gonna be a good dad from ten thousand miles away! I need to be home, where I can see the love of my life and see my kid grow. I would really like to meet my son or daughter before he or she heads off to college or gets married!"

At this, the Colonel also got up from his seat and stopped the younger man from pacing a hole in his floor, "Son, I know you want to be there for your wife and baby, but as much as I want to send you home, I just can't. I really wish I could, but it's just not possible. Don't you think I've tried?" Putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, he spoke softly, "I know this isn't much comfort to ya Pierce, but you'll see Margaret again soon…_and_ you son or daughter."

Another sigh of defeat, "You know…I really hate this stupid war."

Colonel Potter gave a small, half-hearted chuckle, "So do I Hawk…so do I."

Before the handsome surgeon disappeared behind the door, he popped his head in once more and smiled, "And Colonel…?"

"Yeah?"

"If Starks comes in here, you don't know anything about her missing tent…okay?"

This caused the CO to laugh uncontrollably. When he could speak, he winked, "Right, I don't know anything!"

**Well, I know it's not the best chapter, but I thought I had it planned really well, long before I even started writing the beginning of this story! I hope it's not too bad… I'm not all that sure about it, but thought I should give you an update! Hopefully next weekend's update will be better, although I'll be gone Friday night for my best friends birthday party and I won't have Monday off again…dang. But, I have Halloween off, so therefore I'll try to get a lot of writing done then! So, tell me what you thought about this chapter!**

**Oh, one more thing…I'm not exactly old enough to know when exactly the baby starts kicking and what not, or how much you'd feel it…even how it would feel, but hopefully you won't read into that too much, right? :-S**

**And Dana, sorry if parts of this chapter sounded like that part in Six Weeks Later. I tried to switch it up a bit… I wasn't trying to steal your idea though! ;-)**


	16. A Plan for a Party!

_Author's Note: Sorry this is so late, but my best friend's 18th birthday was on the 25th and her party was on Friday so I didn't get to write then. And on Sunday I wanted to loose touch with reality so I was playing Sims 2 all day! Also, the Pioneer's (my school's) football team got into the playoffs for the first time since 1980 so the first big game was on Wednesday! (WE WON! BIG TIME!-Now we're _ALMOST_ qualified for state too!) I was doing homework all the time so I could go and I'm so glad I did! :-D_

_But you didn't open this to hear about my life, did ya? Hehe, I know you didn't! You want an update on how the expecting mother and father are doing, right? Yep, that's what I though. Okay, here ya go! Enjoy, and as always, thanks for the reviews! (Some credit needs to go to Alan Alda since he wrote the script for 'The Party', which is what an idea for this chapter, along with quite a few that are coming up, came from…{The party is finally set for sometime around Easter in the show, but for this, it'll be late May for an extra twist!})_

_ONE MORE THING AND I'LL LET YOU READ! I'm not sure, but I think I've said before that Margaret's due in June, but it would actually be July…I think. I don't know, this is getting me confused! Haha. But, from now on, she's due in JULY! Get it? Got it? Good! ;-)_

**Chapter 16**

**April 22, 1953**

Margaret started feeling the baby move a lot more now that she was about six months along. _She_, as the mother-to-be referred to it, didn't move much during the day yet, but at night she would lightly kick for awhile before her mother would fall asleep. Sometimes Margaret would lay on her side with a pillow behind her and her hand loosely draped onto her stomach. When she was just about asleep, it felt like Hawkeye was with her. This caused many happy dreams to follow, just like Daniel promised.

Tonight, the expecting mother had something else on her mind as well. Something great. In about a month's time, she and her father-in-law would be heading down to New York City for a big 'family' reunion. In a letter that she received earlier that month, Hawkeye told her all about BJ's idea for a big gathering for the families of everyone at the 4077th. Today, she received a letter saying that the date had finally been set. She and Daniel, Mildred Potter, the O'Reilys, Peg Hunnicutt, Klinger's family, Charles' mom and dad, and Father Mulcahy's sister Angelica (AKA: Cathy) would meet at a very nice hotel in New York on May 28th. Everyone was very excited for the party and, from Hawkeye's letter, it sounded like it took awhile to determine when the party would be held since different things kept coming up. It was kind of short notice, but in order to have everyone at the party, it was the best they could do.

Margaret was excited to meet everyone that she had heard so much about. When she was back in Korea, she heard so much about the families of all of her friends and, after meeting Daniel, guessed that everything she heard was true. She was now in bed and rolled over to grab the letter from her nightstand and reached up to switch on the lamp.

_My Magpie,_

She laughed every time she saw it, even though she had read the letter at least six times since she received it that morning.

_How's everything in civilization? I wish I could be with you. I know I've already told you a hundred times, but I would love to be able to hold you in my arms again and kiss you. It's been hell not being able to touch you or see you or kiss you or…anything. Remember when we were in that hut and you asked me if I knew what it was like to loose sight of a picture because you've kissed it so much it's covered in lipstick? Sure, that was with you and Donald and Donald's a big jack ass (Sorry, don't read this out loud so the baby hears that! Haha), but it's pretty much the same thing with me and your picture. And no, I'm not wearing lipstick, thank you very much! I've just touched it so much and kissed it (lipstick free, mind you) so much that its almost completely faded. It probably doesn't help matters that I keep in my pocket no matter what. I feel horrible about it though, because it was my favorite one of you and now it isn't as clear as it used to be. Maybe you could send me another one? I'm begging here! I have the other ones, that will hold me over for awhile if you are busy. Don't worry about it now though._

Margaret sighed, looking over to the nightstand. She knew exactly what that was like. The picture that Hawkeye had sent to her in the previous letter to the one she was reading now leaned against their wedding picture and the Groucho glasses sort of helped it stay upright. He looked so handsome in it, dressed in his Class A's that he knew drove her wild. She had been tempted time and time again to kiss the picture, but kept telling herself that getting any lipstick on the photo would ruin it. 'You're just tired, Margaret. You're musing about kissing a _photo_ of your husband!' She chuckled and shook her head in disbelief at her thoughts.

_I'd give anything to cuddle with you right now. It's pretty chilly, even if it _is_ April, so I'd love to feel your warmth…you're skin is so much softer than the wool army blankets around here. Plus you're just fun to cuddle with! Among other things, of course! I would also give anything to feel the baby like you said I did in your dream. I keep bombarding BJ with questions about fatherhood too. I'm not sure if I should though. I feel like I might be making him homesick…well, more than what's normal anyway. I know I've told you this before as well, but I'm really kind of nervous about being a father. I mean honestly, how can a smart ass, former-womanizing, loud mouth, draftee, be a great roll model for a little kid?! Not to mention the fact that I still sometimes drown my sorrows with 'lighter fluid'. I don't very much anymore, but let me tell you, after the letter where you said you felt the baby move…the still got used that night. A little too much, I hate to say._

'Why are you crying again?! You've already read this six times!' The woman wiped her eyes and sort of yelled at herself in her head about how emotional she was getting. She knew that Hawkeye would be a great dad and knew that, even with all of his little quirks, he was still one hell of a guy.

_There I go again…putting the bad stuff in a letter. Why do I always do that?! I'm sorry Margaret. Maybe I should rewrite this…? Well, I would but my pen's running out of ink and you know how it is around here. Requesting a new pen, even if there's one just lying around here, may take a week or so! Just…be happy Honey. That's what I truly want. For you to be happy. I love you so much and I feel terrible about being the cause of your sadness. I'm still alive! We'll see each other again soon, I promise. Even if I have to go AWOL! (Okay, I'm just kidding there. I don't want to end up in the stockade and then not be able to see you for even longer.) But, how about now I talk about something happy, huh?_

_The date for the party has finally been set! FINALLY! It took us a month of phone calls, telegrams, letters, and everything else, but we finally got it! I know it's short notice, but since no one can really see the war ending in a month and also because that's the only time we've been able to get everyone there, we've set it to May 28__th__…_

Margaret's eyelids drooped down and the letter fell to the blankets on the bed as she drifted off to sleep.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"_How's your back?" Hawkeye and Margaret were cuddling on the couch in the living room in front of the fireplace. The handsome surgeon was rubbing his wife's rounded stomach and laughing excitedly the couple of times he felt the baby move. He had noticed that she was shifting around, trying to find a comfortable position._

_Margaret smiled and laid her head on Hawkeye's shoulder. She was a little sleepy after a full day of work at the clinic since Suzy was sick and Chelsea was out of town. She didn't feel right about leaving at noon like she usually did, and leaving her husband and father-in-law on their own, so she staid until closing time at 5:00. "It's a little sore," she replied, sitting up straighter to stretch out her back a little._

_The doctor motioned for his favorite nurse to lay on her side with her head on his lap. When he reached down and rubbed her sore back, he chuckled when he heard his wife's gentle moan of comfort. "How's that?" he asked._

"_That feels wonderful." She replied, feeling her eyelids fall and a yawn approach. After she fell asleep, she could feel Hawkeye rubbing her back for a while longer before carefully getting up from the couch and placing a soft pillow where he had been sitting. About a half an hour later, Margaret stirred, a wonderful smell in the air. Noticing that her husband wasn't on the couch anymore, she got up and followed the scent into the kitchen. "Something smells good," she smiled, leaning in the doorway, watching her husband by the stove, stirring the source of the wonderful smell._

"_Morning Sleeping Beauty." He smiled widely, turned the stove down, and kissed her softly before gently guiding her over to the table and urging her to get off her feet. _

"_I thought you said you couldn't cook?" Margaret chuckled, seeing her husband in her apron that was clearly for a woman considering the little pink flowers everywhere and the light blue lace around the edges._

"_Well, I can cook two things: French Toast and Fettuccini Alfrado. I watched my mom make it every Friday night before she died and I guess it rubbed off." He shrugged, "Then after she was gone, Dad and I wouldn't eat it for years. One day I had this craving for it though and decided to give it a try…hope you like it."_

"_I'm sure I'll love it, Ben," she smiled._

_Hawkeye leaned on the table to kiss his wife on the forehead, "I hope so." He sat down in the chair opposite her and they sat there, looking into each other's eyes and caressing each other's hands until the noodles started boiling over and the handsome man had to go save supper. It turned out alright though. Margaret watched as her husband drained the water and added the other ingredients, laughing when he started dancing around with the different pots and pans and kitchen utensils. Hawkeye dropped one of the bigger pans, however, and it cause one heck of a loud bang…_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Margaret jumped, waking up startled. When a huge flash of light lit everything up in her room, she realized that it must have been a clap of thunder that woke her up. When another loud clap of thunder boomed, she wished she had Hawkeye around to comfort her. Loud noises scared the hell out of her, especially when they sounded a lot like shell fire, as did the loud rumbling of the long lasting thunderclap. Looking over toward the lamp, she noticed that Daniel must have come in and turned it off. When another flash of lightning came, she also saw that her husband's letter was now safely tucked into it's envelope and on the nightstand.

Laying down a little, she felt the baby kick a little stronger than normal and laid a hand over the area it kicked on the lower part of her stomach. "It's okay, you'll be fine in there. Mommy's not gonna let anything happen to you." She chuckled, thinking about what Hawkeye and many other people had told her to try to comfort her during a storm. "That's just the angels bowling." She patted her stomach and reached over to grab her husband's photo. Just holding the picture of the handsome 'soldier' made her feel better…safer. With her other hand, she moved the extra pillow behind her and draped her arm over her side. For a brief moment before she surrendered to the land of the Z's, it felt like she was once again in her husband's arms.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_It was cold. Much colder than the chilly April air in Crabapple Cove and there was a draft. Margaret opened her eyes to find herself back in her tent at the 4077__th__, looking at the wood paneling on the wall by her bed. She was overjoyed when she saw Hawkeye's arm around her when she looked down. Peaking over her shoulder, she saw her husband's sleeping form. He looked so peaceful, but Margaret couldn't resist it anymore. She turned around in her small cot to face the handsome man. It was an interesting task anymore with her stomach swollen like it was, but managed to wrap her arms around the man and kiss his neck. The blonde would have loved to have kissed him a little north of there, but just couldn't reach from where she was by his chest._

_The raven-haired man smiled and gently scratched the beautiful woman's back in a way that sent shivers throughout her entire body. "You so gorgeous," he smiled and used a very fake accent that somehow managed to match the mischievous hint in his eye._

"_You so funny." Margaret smiled and scooted up a bit so she could be more eye to eye with Hawkeye, mimicking his very fake accent._

_He gave her a caring squeeze and covered her forehead with feather light kisses, "I love you."_

"_I love you too." The blond replied, returning the squeeze._

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

This time the light that shown in Margaret's room was from the sun and not a lightning bolt. A ray of sun fell across the sleeping woman's form that was just warm enough to wake her up. She smiled when the first thing she saw was the picture she still held onto in her hand. The pillow was still against her back and, even though she wished it were really what it was supposed to somewhat feel like, she didn't cry when it didn't move or kiss her ear or any of the things that Hawkeye would do after realizing that she was awake.

The clock on her wall said it was 9:00 in the morning. "Thank God for Sundays…" Margaret sighed, grateful that she didn't have to work that day. She loved her job, but was feeling a little run down after that all day shift the day before. After yawning and stretching, she swung her feet off the side of the bed and put on her robe and slippers and went downstairs. As she stepped into the hall, she could smell bacon frying in the kitchen and followed the scent, not realizing before how hungry she was.

"Good morning Margaret. Did you sleep through that big storm last night?" Daniel looked back through the doorway when he heard his daughter-in-law walk down the stairs.

Making her way towards the table, she replied, "Well, not _clear _through. I woke up for a minute or so."

"The thunder wake you up?" Margaret nodded. "Angels bowling my dear, only angels bowling," he smiled, knowing what terrified the woman deeply by hearing it from his son.

She nodded slightly. Suddenly, a thought from the previous night's first dream, happened to cross her mind, "Daniel, can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

The blond sighed, wondering how she would ask what she wanted. She started out slowly, putting her words together carefully, "Last night, I had this dream about Hawkeye cooking in my apron and he looked hilarious…but he said something before that, that got me wondering…about his mother." Daniel sat down across from her, knowing what would fallow and was a little surprised that it took this long to come. "What was she like?" Margaret bit her lower lip in her state of nervousness. She didn't know why, but she thought that this subject might make her father-in-law a little testy. "If you don't mind me asking, of course," the woman added quickly.

Daniel nodded, a small, content smile on his face that reminded Margaret of Hawkeye's. "Of course I don't mind you asking, Margaret. In fact I was wondering what was taking you so long to ask," the Pierce mischief was in his eyes for a second, but then was replaced by a look of sadness. A sort of _old_ sadness. "She was one hell of a woman. Smiled up until the day she died, too."

Margaret listened intently, soaking up every word the older man was saying. She learned that Hawkeye's mother was born in Ohio to two Italian immigrants that went through Ellis Island. She had the blackest, shiniest, softest hair Daniel had ever seen that went down to her waist.

Daniel and his late wife met in Zanesville when they bumped into each other on the sidewalk outside of a little bakery downtown in a way that was almost "movie-like" as he put it. He was there for a little family get-together and was on a walk, getting away from his cousin's house and his rather strange family for awhile. She was coming out of the tiny little shop when he ran into her, not seeing her on the scarcely lit path. Feeling bad, he had picked up all of her stuff for her and, when his eyes adjusted to the moonlight, it was love at first sight.

They married exactly one year later and ten months after that, Hawkeye came along. Their son's mother was also one heck of a cook and her specialty was Fettuccini Alfrado. This was a fact that sort of surprised Margaret, seeing as how Hawkeye had never mentioned it to her before, but somehow it had ended up in her dream. She shrugged it off though and didn't think anything more about it when Daniel continued.

"She died when Ben was only ten years old…" The grey haired man took out a handkerchief from his pocket and had to blow his nose with one hand as the emotions of losing his beloved wife came again. His other hand was on the table and Margaret reached over to give it a reassuring squeeze. "It was cancer. We knew she was dieing, but I refused to let Hawkeye know…I should have told him. After she died I was so heartbroken that I couldn't even sleep in our old bed for a month without wanting to join her somehow."

"I'm sorry Daniel. That must have been rough." A lump formed in her throat, "Hawkeye told me she had died, but he never told me the details."

With his other hand, he put his handkerchief back in his pocket and patted his daughter-in-law's small, soft hand that was still on his and smiled, "Why don't I serve up some of that bacon?" He then got up and bustled around, putting the bacon, and soon some eggs and toast on two plates before returning to his seat and scarfing it down with a very hungry Margaret.

**That Night**

Margaret was in her little office that Daniel had set up for her. She had been 'doing paperwork' since about five o'clock and it was now almost nine. Her 'paperwork' however, was a reply to Hawkeye's letter. She had redone it and redone it, wanting it to be just right, knowing that her husband was going through a rough time. Finally, after three tries, she was satisfied with the letter she had written. Before sealing it in the envelope, she got up and walked to the nursery to sit in the soft rocking chair and gave it one more read-through.

_Dear Ben,_

_Magpie? Haha, that made me laugh several times today. Thanks. How are you Honey? I'm okay, just really kind of lonely without you around. I hope you're alright…well, as alright as morale will allow. I'm always so worried about you, no matter how many times you tell me not to be. I have a feeling that I'll be one of those paranoid mothers too, but then again I guess that's just a good quality for a parent to have. Speaking of parenthood though, Ben you _will_ be a wonderful father. We have both done some things in the past that may make us question ourselves, but that doesn't mean we're horrible people. Hawk, you're warm and gentle and would never hurt a fly. I could and _have_ trusted you with my life because I know that you would do anything to save or help someone, even the 'enemy'. You're funny, you give wonderful advice, you always listen to people. You're honest, and you're VERY intelligent. Ben, I can't think of _anyone_ who could make a better father, or a better husband. I know that our child will love you and look up to you because…well, because you're you! Think of all of those boys who have passed through the 4077__th__ that looked up to you when they were patients there. Even Radar! You know how much you helped _him_? Don't get me wrong, I'm nervous as hell about being a mother, but I know we can do it. And I think we'll be damn good at it too!_

_As for that picture, consider it sent. Your dad and I went to the park the other day and took some pictures there so I will send you some of those. I think you will like them even better than the ones I sent to you before. Haha, I think you'll see that I'm also showing a little more than I was before. On the subject of photos though, I want to thank you again for that picture you sent with you in your Class A's. You know how much I love you in those, and you look amazing. I was actually very grateful for that picture last night (even more so than usual, I mean), because we had a pretty big thunderstorm that was extremely loud. I'm not sure if I would have been able to get back to sleep if I hadn't been holding that picture and looking at your gorgeous eyes whenever lightning flashed. I think your smile helped with that too, but whatever it was, it did sort of make me miss you even more, if that's possible. _

_You would be very proud of me though. I had two dreams about you and me last night. One of them took place here, and the other one took place in my old tent. We were in each other's arms, snuggling almost the entire time. I guess that shows how much I miss snuggling with you too. Hmm…I wonder what kind of 'other things' you're speaking of. As if I didn't know! Anyway, I didn't cry when I woke up. I just sighed and wished I could have gone back to sleep and continued the dream… I felt like I could have cried, but I tried to be strong like you say I am and I guess it worked a little bit. It still hurt though._

_I think the baby's a night baby since she doesn't move much during the day. She moves a little more at night, but probably more than I realize. I just wish you could be here to feel it like you do in some of my dreams. I feel like I'm hording the whole experience, but of course, what choice do I have!? I'm willing to bet that BJ knows what you're going through though, so he probably understands that you're not _trying_ to make him homesick. And please don't worry about writing to me about the bad stuff. It's not like I don't know what happens in that hell they call the war…oh sorry, Police Action. I still don't understand why they don't just call it a war. You'd think a former Army Brat would be able to come up with an answer, but after two and a half years in that _'police action'_, I still have no clue. I'd love to give those politicians, radio broadcasters, news reporters, and writers a piece of my mind though._

_Your father and I are so excited about the party in May! I can't wait to meet everyone. It may be short notice, but everyone must be chomping at the bit to go! I know I am. That will be a lot of fun and I'll be glad to get back to New York City. I went there once for a family vacation with my mother and sister when I was about fifteen years old and absolutely loved it. I was pretty scared though because of ALL the people, but I hope now it'll be better. I'm sure it will be. I just hope that the families of everyone there halfway like me… I hope not too many of them are skeptical about our situation. Well, not really _now_, but how we got to this point…you know what I mean, right?_

_As always, just know that I love you so much and would give anything to wrap my arms around you right now and kiss you forever. Please don't worry about the drinking either. I understand completely about drowning your sorrows. I would be doing that myself, but I really don't think I should for the baby's sake. Nothing has really been proven yet, but it can't be good for the little guy… But, anyway, just know that, whatever happens, I'm behind you 100%, just like you have been for me. I love you…and so does the baby._

_Always yours,_

_Magpie_

Margaret chuckled quietly to herself after seeing how she had signed the letter with her recently given nickname. It was better than Hotlips, that was for sure! She collected the three small black and white photos she picked out from the ones they had developed at the drug store and also put them in the envelope. In one, she was wearing a long denim skirt with brown dress boots and a pretty white maternity top. Of course, everything turned out to be a different shade of grey, but she still looked beautiful, leaning up against the tree with the ocean in the background and her hair shining in the sunlight. Another one was a picture that one of Daniel's friends had taken when he saw that the two were trying to get a picture with them both in it. Luckily, he just happened to be walking by the park on his way to work. In the picture, the expecting mother and grandfather were on a park bench. Daniel had his arm behind Margaret and had a huge smile on his face, mainly because with the arm that was behind his daughter-in-law, he was giving bunny ears. Margaret seemed to be laughing, almost _knowing_ what he was doing. Being Hawkeye's father, she should have known! Then the other one was another picture taken at profile. Margaret was standing to the side, holding her flowing shirt in so her husband could see how big she was getting. She wasn't all _that_ big, but she was definitely showing more than what she had been.

After sealing the envelope shut, she put a little bit of her vanilla perfume on it along with a stamp and addressed it. At about 9:30, she went downstairs and put on her coat, even though it wouldn't take _that_ long to go to the mailbox and back. She was thankful that she did, however, as it was very cold when she stepped out onto the front porch. The air smelled sweet with the saltwater of the Atlantic and there was a gentle breeze that made the outdoors inviting, even it was cold. She made her way out to the mailbox at the end of the driveway and opened up the little door on the white box. Before sliding it in, she kissed it, knowing that sooner or later, her husband would be touching that spot on the envelope too…

**Okay, there ya go! I made this chapter long so it would sort of make up for the lack of a chapter last week. Sorry again about that, but I just haven't really had time to write and trust me, it's been driving me NUTS! I'd also like to say that, about Margaret's letter, many women in the 1950's **_**did**_** drink while they were pregnant but nothing was really known about it. I'm thinking that some people were probably smarter than that though, so I made her one of them that would be. Hope you don't mind. ;-) But anywho…I hope this was worth the wait, and as always, tell me what you think! Thanks for reading! **

**PS: I hope to have chapter 17 up by next weekend also. And special thanks to Lissy who helped a lot with this chapter. You may not think you did, but you did! THANKS! One more thing: GO PIONEERS! Hehe, can you tell that I'm excited?!**


	17. While in Hiding

Author's Note: In case you were wondering, the Pioneers lost the Quarter Finals against George Little Rock 24-7, but no one expected us to get this far, so we're good! My best friend said, "We've come from zeros to heroes in two years, so that's REALLY saying something!" She's totally right too. Haha, there's always next year, however. Hopefully we can do it then! Okay, here we go: as promised, I'm bringing you your weekly update. Enjoy! And, as always, thank you so much for the reviews, I hope you like this update!

**Chapter 17**

**A Week Later**

"Mail call sirs!" Radar walked into the Swamp and held up a few letters.

"Alright! News from home!" BJ got up from his cot and hovered over the young company clerk while he sorted out what letters went to which Swamp-rat, and grew more impatient with every second. "Come on Radar!"

"Be patient, will ya?" The short man replied, a slightly annoyed tone in his voice. Finally the letters were arranged, "Okay, here you go. Three for Dr. Hunnicutt," the envelopes were quickly removed from his hands by the man whose letters they were, "two for Dr. Winchester," he turned around to give the balding man his letters, "and two for Dr. Pierce…" A confused look took over the corporal's features, the man's cot empty. "Where's Hawkeye?"

Charles looked thoughtful but started laughing, "Didn't he say something about hiding from Major Casey?"

"That could be." The sandy-haired man laughed and nodded his agreement, "That could_ very_ well be."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Oh Margaret, I wish you were still here…" Hawkeye was, once again, looking at his faded picture of his wife. He had found a nice spot about a hundred yards out of camp and was now sitting with his back against a very big, very old oak tree. It was hard to believe that he was in a war zone right now, considering that it was actually a very nice Spring day. Two weeks ago, the weather was freezing, but now it was pretty nice and was starting to get warmer out. Leaning his head against the trunk of the tree, he sighed, wishing he could be in Maine with his wife, walking through the parks hand-in-hand with the beautiful woman.

The dark haired man looked at the picture once again and felt a slight twist in his stomach. There was something that was bothering him greatly…the new head nurse. She was an okay girl and a very nice change from Starks, but she was still driving him insane.

"Looks like someone has a crush on you." BJ had teased him. That was fine and dandy, he knew that a lot of the girls in his class had had crushes on him since junior high, but now…after being married and expecting a family, it bothered him greatly. If Major Emma Casey would just be like the girls in his classes, waving at him once in awhile, or the odd wink from across the room that could easily be ignored, he wouldn't be too bothered. But Casey never stopped following him. She didn't just follow him either. She would just keep jabbering and sometimes if he got within a foot from her, she would start poking him, obviously thinking she was funny. Then, and worst of all, she'd always try to trap him in a corner and almost kiss him! All in all, she was VERY annoying and in all honestly, even more immature than those girls in junior high.

He just wanted to get away from her, but there wasn't usually a place to hide except for the latrine or the showers, but it was only a matter of time before she'd follow him in _there_. Early that morning, Hawkeye had decided to go for a walk and was very relieved to see that Major Casey wasn't following him. Just to keep it safe, however, he found a big tree and sat on the side, opposite the camp, making sure that the nosey nurse would stay out of his hair.

With his head still resting on the trunk of the tree, Hawkeye brought up the picture of Margaret once again. "God I miss you," the light shone through the worn picture, causing it to be a little transparent. He sighed, and lightly kissed the picture. He knew it was a kind of dorky thing to do, but he couldn't help it and, somehow, it made him feel a little better.

"Hey Hawk!" Hawkeye must have jumped about three feet from where he was sitting and his eyes were wide. The picture in his hand was still by the tree, having been thrown in surprise. BJ laughed as he bent down to grab the picture and handed it back to his best friend, "Easy there, don't have a heart attack."

Clutching his chest and panting in an over-exaggerated way, the surprised surgeon pretended to be angry, but his eyes were sparkling too much to fit the part. "Jesus Christ BJ, are you trying to kill me!? I thought you could have been a Chinese foot soldier or a North Korean…or worse, CASEY!"

Still laughing, the surgeon with the cheesy mustache leaned forward, "Here, I thought you might want this." BJ handed the still wide-eyed surgeon his letters. One was from his father and the other was from Margaret.

"Thanks." Hawkeye smiled from ear to ear at the sight of his wife's familiar handwriting…and his dad's too, of course. Sitting back up against the tree, he eagerly ripped open his wife's letter and pulled out the contents while BJ picked a piece of the brown, dry, tall grass and started chewing on it as he leaned up against the tree, able to see the contents of his best friend's letter as well. "Hey look! New pictures!" The expecting father's pride couldn't be contained. "Isn't she beautiful Beej?" Even if you couldn't see him, the smile seemed to somehow appear in his voice as he looked at the picture of Margaret leaning against the tree in her denim skirt and white flowing shirt.

"Sure is. Looks like Junior's gettin' big." BJ chuckled. Somehow, seeing his friend's wife, and a very dear friend to him as well, in a picture seemed strange. He didn't know why though. Maybe it was because he kept expecting to hear her in the O.R. or to see her trying to sneak Hawkeye out of her tent. In a way, it was like he hadn't excepted the fact that she was gone yet. Not gone as in the 'big' gone, but gone as in back in the states…in a somewhat peaceful place. Where there was peace and the wounds she helped treat were simple…normal. Like he considered Hawkeye a brother, he also considered Margaret a sister. A sister that was a few months older than him and had maybe been around the block a few more times than he had, and had seen more of the world, but a sister all the same. The 4077th just seemed empty without her, like a family that had been split apart…and everyone agreed.

Hawkeye started laughing. He was skimming his way through the fourth page of the letter. He loved it when she sent him long letters. "Listen to this Beej. _I think the baby's a night baby since she doesn't move much during the day. She moves a little more at night, but probably more than I realize._" The dark-haired surgeon laughed, emphasizing the 'she's in the passage. "She thinks the baby's a girl."

"Got her heart set on little pink booties, does she?"

"Yeah, I just hope she won't be too disappointed if it's a boy." He knew she wouldn't be, but the thought _did_ cross his mind.

BJ shook his head, "Take it from someone who was praying for a boy. There's no way you can be disappointed in the gender once you see that sweet little face and hear the baby cry and know that you're responsible for a little life…it's wonderful and all of your cares just seem to fly out the window." A distant look swept the man's face. "Now if I could only meet that little girl," he sighed, "she's already turning two this year…"

"BJ, I'm sorry if I'm making you feel more homesick than normal."

The slightly younger surgeon slid down the trunk and sat down by his buddy, on the curve that was at about a ninety degree angle from him. "No, you're not really making me more homesick. I'm happy for ya. Very much so…"

"But…"

"I don't know. I guess I just wish things were kinda how they used to be. I mean, I'm glad you and Margaret are married and all, and I'm already proud of my honorary niece or nephew, but I miss how things used to be, you know?" He shrugged and adjusted Trapper's old hat so it somewhat covered his eyes from the bright Spring-time sun.

"I know how ya feel." Hawkeye agreed completely. "I'm excited to be a father, but it's like I just want Margaret back. But I want the baby too." Another sigh, "I'm just…confused. It's like I want one so bad, but can't have the other and then I want the other so bad but wouldn't be able to have the one."

"You're beginning to sound like Radar."

Hawkeye just laughed as he looked down at his letter again. BJ yawned. "Hey before you fall asleep, did you happen to bring any paper out with you?"

"Sure did." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a big pad of paper and a pen, "I thought you might like to reply to those letters while you were in hiding."

"Great! Thanks." Then a thought struck him, "speaking of…where _is_ my stalker?"

"Post-op."

"As a patient or a nurse?" Hawkeye replied, a little too hopeful where the first option was concerned.

BJ just chuckled as he yawned once more and fell asleep in the warm sun.

Hawkeye looked at the three snapshots that Margaret had sent him and could feel tears welling up in the back of his eyes. He wanted so bad to be with her that just seeing a recent photo made him want to cry. Well, seeing _any_ photo of her made him want to cry. Although the one where she was leaning against the tree was his favorite, the one with both Margaret and her father-in-law was the one that made him smile the widest. The looks on their faces made him laugh and by the look on his dad's face, he knew that he already loved his daughter-in-law very much. Sure, he had said that he did many times in his letters, but the picture proved it. There was no doubt in his mind anymore that Daniel really loved having Margaret around. He knew that his dad would be okay with it from the start, however.

After looking at each picture for at least five minutes, committing them to memory, should anything happen to them, he looked at his letter once again and read it. Slowly. He wanted to make it last and was savoring every little word. He read the letter all the way through about three times before picking up the pad of paper and the pen and trying to write back and keep the letter he was replying to from blowing away at the same time. It wasn't an easy task, but it worked for as long as he needed it too.

_Dear Margaret,_

_Haha, you liked that 'Magpie' thing, huh? Not sure where that came from, but I just thought of it and had to try it out. I'm alright here in Hell's Window East, but how's everything back in the Cove? Around here, it's finally starting to get nice out. Actually, as we speak, I'm really kind of enjoying the time off that I have, for awhile anyway, under an old oak tree outside of camp. The temperature is probably in the sixty's, I think, and a lot warmer than what it has been. Of course, that doesn't mean that I don't still want to cuddle with you all the time…and see that nice warm smile on your face as you read that last sentence. _

_So you think I'll be a good dad, huh? Well, I certainly hope you're right… I've talked to BJ about that too and he says a kid would be lucky to have me as a father. Maybe he was drunk at the time? No, I'm sure I'll be alright, but I'm still nervous as hell. Is this what I'll feel like for the next eighteen to twenty years? I'll have to ask Colonel Potter about that. I know this sounds like I may not be very excited about the baby with all these, almost _negative_ thoughts, but I really am. I can't wait to see that little face and feel it fall asleep on my chest while I'm laying on the couch and trying not to fall asleep myself. Well, I _hope_ I'm home in time to be able to do that…_

_But, about me being out at this tree. Our new nurse is a big difference from Starks and that's great, but she's also getting very annoying. Evidently, she has quite the crush on me and is worse than those girls that did in junior high. So, now I'm out here, hiding from her. It sounds childish I know, but I can't really stand being around her. Take the other day for example…_

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Hawkeye was once again making rounds in Post-Op at about three o'clock in the morning. He wasn't scheduled for it, but he had offered to relieve Colonel Potter of his post so he could go get some more sleep before the immanent arrival of the wounded at dawn. For the last week, there had been tons of wounded in the early morning. It also gave Hawkeye something to do to take his mind off of his loneliness.

"Hiya Hawkeye!" Major Casey wasn't in Post-Op seconds ago when the surgeon had turned his back on the door, but now she was right behind him at the desk and her face was about an inch from his head. Her rather loud greeting for three o'clock in the morning scared the crap out of him and he jumped so much that he almost fell out of his chair.

Now he was thoroughly annoyed, "Major, what the hell are you doing here?"

"I told Kellye to go get some more sleep. I'm the head nurse around here…I _can_ do that you know," she sat on the corner of the desk and leaned back, trying to act seductress, flipping her orange hair over her shoulder. She had tried to dye it blonde, but the 'dishwater' blond hair didn't take the dye too well and caused it to turn the most disgusting color of orange.

"Fine, just stay in your corner." Hawkeye got up and tried to escape to the other side of the room, but it was really no use. The woman with a medium height practically pinned him against the wall by the door. She was about 115 pounds and a lot stronger than she looked. You could see almost every bone in her body, even when she had a heavy coat on. All in all, she was a woman who was not very attractive in the least, but always thought she was. Quite frankly, she resembled a couple of the hamsters that Radar had been keeping in the VIP tent.

"Casey!" Hawkeye was stronger and pushed her away from him.

The nurse gave him a mischievous smile, "So you like it rough, huh?"

"Nurse Casey, I am a happily married man. Don't you ever do that again!" the chief surgeon yelled, thoroughly aggravated. A few of the men in the filled room woke up and watched the scene from their beds, taking the doctor's side, not much liking the nurse, or her intentions.

"Aw doc', I didn't think you were one to be shy."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

_I went on screaming at her for about five minutes before she decided to call it quits for the night and just went on with her rounds. I don't think I've ever really been so mad at a woman. Even with Elsie Starks I never got that mad. I just feel so guilty about what she was trying to do. I wasn't influencing it at all and I didn't oblige to what she was doing, but I just still feet like it was my fault. I still feel guilty about it! __I hadn't really thought that it could happen. I mean after all, I'm happily married now. I figured that would be enough to keep any woman at bay, but now we see just how wrong I was... Margaret, you have no idea how bad I feel about all of this. Well, that sounds like I _did_ something with her, but I really didn't. I felt like punching her out, but like you said, I'd never hurt a fly. Physically…maybe I hurt her a little emotionally though, but I could honestly care less with her._

_Back to more comforting thoughts now. The pictures that you sent me are wonderful. I showed them to BJ as soon as I opened your letter and he agrees with me 100% that you're absolutely gorgeous. I know I've told you this before, but even though the pictures are in black and white, I can tell that you're glowing even more so than you were when you left. Now if only I could be there to kiss that glowing skin of yours. I'd start at your nose and work my way down to your toes. You're smiling again, aren't you? Face it, I know you too well. Haha._

_The picture with you and my dad was great as well. I can tell you two are getting along great. How many horrible, embarrassing stories about me as he told you by now? He sure looks like he enjoys your company and in the letters that I've received from him, it _sounds_ like he does too._

_You really are expecting a little girl still, I see. I hope you won't be disappointed if it's a boy. I know you won't be though. Like BJ just said, "__There's no way you can be disappointed in the gender once you see that sweet little face and hear the baby cry and know that you're responsible for a little life…" He sure does make a lot of sense our BJ. I talked to him about not wanting to cause him even more nostalgia than normal and he understood completely. He also said that he's already proud of his honorary niece or nephew, and that he misses you like crazy as well. Even Charles has said how nice it will be to meet 'The Product of the 4077__th__'. I didn't have the heart to tell him that the baby wasn't exactly conceived here. But, I thought I'd let him guess what happened on our way to the 8063__rd__. Wink wink…_

_I'm very proud of you Margaret. I know how hard it is for you, and I'm really trying not to worry you too much. I'm glad that you're not crying every time you have a dream about you and me anymore. Just think of them as little windows to the future, and tell me all about them when I get home and we'll do all of the happy things that were in them. Even if it has to do with you being pregnant. If the baby comes before I get home, we'll have another one! Well, maybe I should consult that with you first, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. _

_I wouldn't worry too much about the party. Everyone will love you. I don't think that they will be too quick to judge just because of _how_ we got to be married. We love each other very much and, to be quite honest, I would have proposed to you anyway. I love you more than life itself and, before we even knew about the baby, I wanted to kneel down in front of you, take your hand in mine, and slip my mother's ring on your finger. Now, the baby is icing on the cake. The party will be a lot of fun, I just know it. We also have a little surprise for everyone at the party as well that you'll just have to wait to see. I know you'll love it though. _

_Give everyone a hug there for me, and Klinger wanted me to remind you and Dad not to say anything about Korea in front of his mom. She doesn't know that he's over here. He didn't want to worry her, so she still thinks that he's at Fort Dix. We took a picture in front of a big sign that we made to make this place look somewhat like Fort Dix and we've blown it up enough that you can see everyone pretty clearly. It's a great picture though, and I'm the one in the cowboy hat and tuxedo, if you wouldn't be able to tell. You're favorite outfit, right? Haha. I didn't come all this way to have my picture taken in a soldier suit…well, I know you love seeing me in my class A's, so I thought I'd give my Sunday, go-to-court-marshal clothes a try for your picture._

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Chopper blades cut through the air a couple hours after working on the letter. Hawkeye sighed, "Beej, wake up."

BJ stirred and lifted his hat away from his face, frowning when he realized that the choppers sounded loaded. "Aw damn."

"Yeah…" Hawkeye closed the pen and put it in his pocket, along with the letters, pictures, and the notepad.

With that, the two men raced back to the camp to help out in triage. After all the men were sorted out, they joined the other doctors in the scrub room and then had to go through nine and a half hours of constant surgery. Nine and a half hours didn't seem like much, but having to deal with Emma Casey and three hours of sleep, it was really taking a toll on the chief surgeon. When the last soldier was finally closed and admitted into post op, Hawkeye stumbled over to the Swamp, Charles, BJ, and Colonel Potter behind him. They had a few drinks from the still and Hawkeye showed off his pictures of his beautiful wife. The colonel's face lit up when he saw his honorary daughter and the bump that his honorary grandchild made.

After about an hour, the handsome, dark haired surgeon was going to go to sleep, but as much as he tried, he just couldn't. So, he took out the pad of paper and his wife's letter again and decided to finish his reply. BJ and Charles stirred when the light was switched on, but didn't complain, knowing that if _they_ missed Margaret as much as they did, it must be killing Hawkeye.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

_Sorry Honey, I had to leave for awhile. Wouldn't you know it, every time I try to make contact with you, choppers come! This 'police action' is really taking its toll on me. I just got back from over nine hours of surgery. Afterwards, the colonel and the other Swamp-rats had some drinks from the still. Colonel Potter sure is excited to meet his grandbaby. You should have seen his face when he saw your picture. He'll be a great surrogate grandfather for our baby. No offence, and I can't see you taking too much offense to this anyway, but he'll be much better than Howitzer Al ever would be at the grandpa thing, I'm sure._

_I love you honey. Tell Dad that I'll reply to his letter tomorrow, and give him a hug for me. Tell him to give you a hug from me too. Tell the baby I said hi and that I'm already proud as a peacock, as Potter put it. And don't worry about me. I'll be fine._

_Love you,_

_Ben_

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Hawkeye ripped the four filled pieces of paper out of the notepad and folded them to fit in the envelope. He addressed it quick and, after throwing on his robe, stumbled over to Radar's office, kissed the letter quick, and dropped it in the man's mail bag. He turned around and started for the door, but something caught his eye. Radar's teddy bear was on the floor, it's owner sound asleep in his cot. He quietly tip-toed over to the bear and picked it up, putting it back in the young man's arms and pulling the blankets back up around his chin. '_Hmm…maybe I _will_ be an okay father…_' He thought as he stumbled back to the Swamp.

**Okay, sorry that took so long, but thanks to a two hour late start due to ice and more snow (sorry Lissy), I had time to get this chapter done this morning. Hope it was worth the wait. ;-) Tell me what you think! Hopefully the next chapter will be up next weekend…**

**PS: Emma, if you are reading this, you know that you are my favorite cousin in the whole wide world and that Emma Casey is in no way related to Emma Mincer. So, don't kill me in my sleep on Thanksgiving break, okay? Okay! Love ya cuzzie! :-D**


	18. The Big Apple

Author's Note: Here it is once again folks! You're weekly update! Sorry it's late! Hope you like it and I'd really like to thank Lissy for all of her help in the last chapter before I start with this one. Sorry I forgot to mention that before. But, thanks a ton! (And for the little idea you gave me for this chapter). I'd also like to thank my favorite cuzzie (the one who Emma Casey is NOT based off of! ;-]) for her help with this chapter as well. I also have no idea how long it would take to get from Crabapple Cove to New York City, so just go with what I have. Haha. Now, where were we? Ah yes, I believe we left off right here…

**Chapter 18**

**May 26, 1953**

"So, are we all packed?" Daniel asked, carrying three suitcases out to the car at about one in the afternoon.

"I think so…" Margaret thought for a moment, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure we have everything."

Her father-in-law laughed, "We'll only be away for about a week. It looks like we're staying for a month!" They had planned on leaving earlier, but the expecting mother kept finding more things she needed to pack.

"Well you could at least let_ me_ carry some of that."

"No no my dear, not in your condition," the older man winked at the mother of his expected grandbaby. She was now bout 7 months along and looking the part. Today she was glowing even more than usual with excitement. She had been looking forward to the party and was anxious to leave for 'The Big Apple'.

Margaret sighed, "You make me sound like I'm a fragile little China doll…" She felt a little perturbed, what with everyone bringing in that _in your condition _line. Of course, everyone was just looking out for her, but her stubborn self wouldn't accept it and almost took it as a threat. Coming from Hawkeye's father though, she took it as a sign of fatherly/grandfatherly love…for the most part anyway.

"Oh no, I'm just a first-time-grandfather-to-be is all." He smiled as he stuffed everything into the trunk. "Are you sure you don't want to take your hospital bag, just in case?"

"Daniel, I'm only seven months along. I'm not gonna go into labor while we're in New York City. I'll be fine," the expecting mother laughed, the sort of worried look on her husband's father's face reminded her so much of Hawkeye's puppy dog eyes.

The man with the salt and pepper hair shook his head, "You're too stubborn, you know that?"

"Thank you." The blond flashed a mischievous smile and was then headed for the passenger door of the Crestline Victoria, but Daniel stepped in front of her and opened the door _for_ her.

"Let me," he smiled.

"Daniel…" She tried to look disappointed in him, but deep down she _did_ sort of enjoy the attention. The disappointed look was spoiled by the smile, tugging at the corner of the blonde's lips. "You're just as bad as your son," she teased.

"Where do you think he got it?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

About four hours later, Margaret and Daniel were singing along to the music on the radio and having a pretty good time with the long drive. When Daniel reached over and turned down the radio, he looked over at his son's wife, "You alright?"

Margaret had stopped singing and was looking out the window, a blank look on her face, "Hmm?" She turned to face the man who was obviously very concerned.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just thinking is all."

"What about?"

The blond sighed, "Just about the last time I was in New York City."

"When was that?"

"I was about fifteen. My mom and my sister and I went for the week while my dad was breaking in his new job at Fort Worth." She sounded bitter, speaking of her father.

Daniel heard the bitterness in her voice, "Can I ask you something Maggie?"

'Maggie' laughed at the use of yet another nickname she was growing quite familiar with. "Of course."

"What happened between you and your dad? Besides the whole ordeal with the little one…was there something before it?"

The subject of the question nodded, "There was." She took a deep breath before continuing, "I was never at the same school for more than two years, being an army brat, you know." When Daniel nodded she went on, "Well, I got tired of it. _Very _tired of it. I could never keep friends and in high school I could never get into the spirit of the football games or the basketball games or anything that I went to with my 'friends'. I never felt like I had a place in the world except for this one time… Dad was stationed at Fort Hamilton and I loved it. I was actually making friends and for the first time, I was involved in something at school." She started laughing, "I was going to play Ado Annie in the school's production of _Oklahoma_. I still can't believe I auditioned for it, but I got the part."

"Now _that_ I would have loved to have seen."

"Same here…" A sad look spread across her face, "Dad announced that he was being transferred to Fort Worth again in a week. We had to start packing and ended up leaving in a couple of days. We had moved so much, we learned not to unpack too much."

"I take it you never got to play Ado Annie?"

"We left the day before opening night. I knew everyone was mad at me and I hated to think that I let the whole cast down, but I didn't have a say in it. My mom, sister, and I never had anything to say about anything that would count… I was so mad about it that I stomped around our new house in Texas for a month. Finally, my mom decided that we needed to have some time away from my dad and we came back up for a week or so in New York City. There I, somehow, ran into the girl that used to be my best friend from Fort Hamilton. She gave me the first, second and third degree about letting the drama club down for leaving before opening night. Of course, they made it _my_ fault as to why my understudy didn't learn her lines."

"Of course," Daniel listened intently. "I hope that didn't ruin the rest of your time in The Big Apple."

"No, not really. I sort of got over it by the fourth or fifth day we were there. But because of my father, I was never really able to have friends before I joined the Army…and even then I couldn't keep them for long until the gang at the 4077th. Of course, the whole Army thing wasn't entirely my idea either. It was mainly influenced by my wanting to, for the first time in my life, impress my father…make him proud," she reached up to rub her eyes and tried not to let Daniel notice the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

Daniel saw though, "I don't see how a _father _couldn't be proud of his _daughter_. You're only my daughter-_in-law_ and I'm damn proud of you anyway."

"That really means a lot." She smiled at the man, but shook her head, "After the whole predicament with my so called friends at Fort Hamilton though, I never agreed with my father. We'd get into horrible fights and I ended up hating the man. When I found out I was pregnant, I called him from the 4077th with some tiny bit of hope that he'd be happy for me and Ben, but no. He hasn't been happy for me since the day I was born. He was always hoping for a son and took it out on my sister, my mom, and me…" She stared off into space, thinking about something in her past. A bump in the road brought her back to the present world and she was then thinking about something else, "What really got me with the whole _Oklahoma_ thing though, was _who_ my best friend in New York was."

"Anyone I know?" He teased, trying to make the mood a little lighter than what it had become.

"Actually, you do know _of_ her. Does the name Emma Casey sound familiar?"

"You mean that mouse-faced, orange-haired floozy that keeps stalking Hawkeye?"

"That's the one. And, she may _say_ that she tried to bleach her hair and failed, but it was that color back in Sophomore year, too."

Daniel laughed, thinking about what the new head nurse of the 4077th must look like, but then grew a little serious, "How do you feel about that though? I mean about her chasing after Hawkeye…"

"You sound like Sidney with that 'how do you feel' stuff." The man just laughed and rolled his eyes. Margaret shrugged, "I don't know how I feel about it," she admitted, "I trust your son with my life, don't get me wrong, it's just that…he's _there_ and I'm _here_."

Daniel reached over and patted his daughter-in-law's knee like a father would, "Margaret, I really don't think you have anything to worry about. I _know _that Ben's womanizing days are over. He's just in for one hell of a marathon with one hell of a nurse."

She blushed slightly knowing that a 'marathon' in that sense of the word could be taken several ways, but her rosy cheeks were pulled up into a warm smile. "Thanks…Dad." Her baby's grandfather looked over, a surprised and thoroughly happy look on his face. He looked back at the road and so did Margaret, but out of the corner of her eye, she could see him reaching up and rubbing his eyes, very subtly like she had tried to when she got caught up in her emotions as well. She had wanted to start calling the man 'Dad', seeing as how he was a much better one than hers ever was, and she loved him much more than she had ever loved her own father too, but the moment never seemed right to test it out. Now, she knew it would probably stick and become a habit.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

The sun was setting and the sky was turning a beautiful pink and purple at about nine o'clock at night. Off in the distance, the two people in the car could just barely see the New York City sky line. As they were moving closer towards the city, the buildings were taller than Margaret remembered, but most of them were still there, just hidden by the high-rises that seemed to rise out of the concrete covered ground. She used to be amazed by the huge buildings, but as they got even closer to the outskirts of the city, the only trees or grass that she saw were in tiny little patches. This was, of course, excluding Central Park, but just thinking that the only bit of 'wilderness' was a tiny part of the huge city seemed rather odd since she was now so used to the miles and miles of it in Maine. The skyscrapers _were_ still amazing, but she had just grown to love the sight of nature a lot more.

Finally, after about an hour of stop and go traffic, they were in front of Pierre Hotel. It was a huge, beautiful building that, from where Margaret and her father-in-law got out of the car, seemed to touch the sky. They stared up at the buildings and all of the lights, trying to take in how big they were while the valet parked the car after the doorman got their bags from the trunk and put them on one of the carts. "Wow…" Daniel was in awe, never having been to the big city before.

"No kidding." Margaret had a similarly amazed tone in her voice. "I didn't think it was possible when I was fifteen, but the buildings have gotten taller."

"It's all the rain. It's made 'em grow." Daniel teased before putting an arm around his daughter-in-law's waist and asking, "Shall we go check into our rooms?"

"That sounds like a good idea. I'm beat."

"Well, you _should_ get some rest," the man nodded, walking alongside his daughter-in-law up the steps and into the beautiful lobby of the hotel.

After stepping through the revolving door, Margaret gaped at the large, gold-leaf accented lobby. "Wow…" It was mainly white with intricate designs carved into the woodwork with gold accents and beautiful green plants. There was a large, gold chandelier near the center of the room on the beautifully painted, very tall ceiling. At the back were two big, elaborate staircases bending apart from each other near the exposed second floor where the ballrooms were. In the center of the staircases on the main floor were four elevators, each having rod iron, cage-like doors and an elevator man in a uniform similar to that of the doorman, maroon with a little bit of dark green and gold trim. The freshly polished granite floor glowed in the light of the chandelier and everything seemed to sparkle, including the blonde's eyes. "This even puts some of the nicest hotels in Tokyo to shame." The lobby was set up much like the hotel that she and Donald were going to stay at when she found him with the other woman, but knew that this hotel would hold MUCH happier memories when she left.

"This place sure is better than the little Lobster Inn back home." Daniel chuckled and then motioned over towards the front desk. "Why don't we go check in." The lobby was crowded, but still seemed quite.

Margaret nodded and followed her father-in-law towards the long desk in an alcove-like section of the huge room, past the small statue of a little girl, pouring water out of a watering can. The bronze statue looked very real and was a beautiful fountain.

The woman behind the counter smiled warmly, "Can I help you?"

The man's daughter-in-law chuckled as she watched him flirt with the very attractive brunette behind the counter. _Like father, like son_,she thought. When he came back, he smiled and gave Margaret her room key. "We're up on the 30th floor. That lady over there said that they made sure to put everyone from the reunion up there."

"I'll show you your rooms," a young bell hop in the same style uniform came up by them, their bags on the cart.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Daniel and Margaret were given one of the sets of conjoining rooms. They each went to their own great rooms and 'freshened up a bit' after their long journey. Margaret was pretty tired when she entered her room. After taking a look at the fabulous view of Central Park (that looked a lot bigger now than when they were just driving past it), testing out the soft, fluffy arm chairs and the king-size bed, covered with pillows and a silky violet comforter, she decided to use the huge bathtub. She unpacked all of her toiletries and arranged them on the vanity in the spacious bathroom, turned the water on for the bath tub, and added some of her best bubble bath soap that she had brought along.

It was around eleven o'clock by the time she came out of the bathroom, snuggled up in one of the hotel robes. They were white, soft and plushy with The Pierre Hotel logo on the pocket. She yawned and crawled into bed after brushing her hair that she had been careful not to get wet. Soon after crawling into bed, she felt the baby kick. Chuckling, she placed a gentle, loving hand over the area, "Morning, Sleepy Head." Suddenly she felt even more tired than she had a moment ago.

Daniel had tried to convince her that it would be okay to take the trip in two days, but she was too stubborn to listen to his reasoning. 'I'll be fine. We'll be sitting down the entire time anyway!' she had said. After traveling long distances so often as a kid and then making the trip from Korea to the states, and vice versa at the beginning of the war, she thought she was 'immune' to the weary feeling a person got when traveling a lot. Of course, she had never been pregnant, or _as_ pregnant as she was now and, even though they had stopped quite frequently at the several rest stops, she still felt uncomfortable as the ride went into the last few hours. They were too close, in her mind, to stop for the night, so she just kept telling Daniel that it was fine to keep going. The conversations they had had took her mind off of her discomfort, however, and despite some of the dull pains in her lower stomach, she was already having a pretty good time.

She fluffed a few pillows and put them behind her before trying to make herself comfortable, a task that was steadily becoming more difficult as the weeks went by. One thing was missing though. Leaving the soft bed, Margaret went over to the chair where one of her suitcases sat and pulled out Hawkeye's Groucho glasses and the picture of him in his class A's. When she put the two objects on the nightstand, she crawled back in bed and looked at her husband's photo. "I love you Ben." She closed her eyes and imagined his arms around her and his warm breath on her neck. If only he could be there to enjoy the party with her instead of thousands of miles away.

**Okay, so I know this chapter wasn't the best, but it was honestly just a filler. I hope you liked it anyway… I also had a ton of writer's block so I'm very grateful to my cousin and Lissy for giving me some great ideas to work with. I'd also like to say that I know nothing about the Pierre Hotel in New York City, nor have I ever been to 'The Big Apple' so my descriptions of the place are probably not the best. But, I hope the next chapters will be better and I hope you weren't too disappointed with **_**this**_** chapter. Tell me what you thought! Thanks again!**

**PS: Thanksgiving break is coming up so I'm hoping I'll be able to write a lot then! :-)**


	19. And The Party Begins!

_Author's Note: As always, thanks for the great reviews! I'm sorry I keep saying 'sorry this isn't the best' or stuff like that, but I really have a self confidence reading of about negative twenty. So, Lissy, I PROMISE I'll try to stop! Sheesh! ;-} But, here you are, another update. Hope you like it! And I'd just like to thank those of you who helped me again. *Cough* Lissy *Cough* Emma *Achooo!* Bev. Hehe, thanks! Oh, and get better soon Bev!_

**Chapter 19 **

**The Next Day**

"So, what are we gonna to do today, Dad?" Margaret asked. She and her father-in-law met up in her share of the conjoined hotel rooms. Hers was the bigger of the two and had a small table and chairs by the window. They had called room service and were now feasting on a wonderful breakfast. It was just a good thing that The Pierre Hotel was footing a large portion of everyone's bill that was there for the 4077th Family Reunion. Staying in a hotel _this_ fancy would also cost a pretty penny.

"Whatever you want." Daniel took a sip of coffee and motioned out the window toward the huge city. The sun was slowly coming up, causing everything to have a gold and pink glow to it. "In a city this size, I'm guessing there'll be something to do," he chuckled over the rim of his coffee cup.

The blond nodded, taking another bite of the delicious looking biscuits and gravy. "I _would_ kind of like to go look for a dress," she shrugged. "Mine doesn't exactly fit that well." Margaret had packed the dress she had bought for the occasion about a month ago, but since then, her stomach swelled even more what with the baby growing faster and needing more room, of course. Then there was the fact that Crabapple Cove didn't really have a lot for clothing stores, let alone clothing stores for the town's expecting mothers.

"I'm thinking they have those here," Daniel grinned. "I'll tell you what," he replaced the mug to the table and leaned on the dark wood surface, "why don't we make a day out of it. The others aren't expected to get here until later today and we'll be meeting them tomorrow for the party anyway, so why don't you and I have a 'father-daughter day' of sorts?"

She had to think about it for a moment. Her back had been hurting constantly since she woke up and she just couldn't seem to get comfortable when she was sitting down. 'Maybe being on my feet for awhile will do me some good.' she thought. "Sure," the woman smiled, "that sounds great!"

"Good!" With that, Daniel took the last drink of his coffee and folded up the newspaper he had been skimming a little earlier. "Well, I'll leave you to get ready while I get my money and we'll go wherever you wanna go."

**The Next Day - Five O'clock**

"Maybe I should have gone with the green one…" Margaret stood in front of the floor length mirror in her hotel room, talking to herself. She looked beautiful in the dress she picked out, but was self conscious about how she looked in it anyway. It had a sort of halter top that tied behind her neck in a pretty bow with the ends connected to the back of the dress and sort of branched out to where the fabric met her shoulder blades. There was a decorative white stitching just below the chest and the pretty pink fabric flowed the rest of the way down, hiding her shoes. She was thankful for the fabric hiding her shoes since she wore white flats that didn't exactly look _great_ with her new dress, but were comfortable. Her ankles were swollen and right now, she was looking for comfort, not necessarily style. But, the dress was both comfortable and stylish, so she was happy.

No matter what Daniel or Hawkeye said, Margaret was still a little worried that no one at the party would like her much. _No respectable woman would get pregnant before getting married!_ It was something she had heard several times. Not directed towards her, but she _had _heard it before and there were movies that she had gone to see after coming back from Korea with lines just like it in them. The expecting mother wasn't _ashamed_ by any means of what had happened and how she got married because, like Hawkeye said, they would have gotten married anyway and the baby was just icing on the cake!

She sighed, her nerves still getting the best of her. She pulled her hair into a nice half ponytail, and did her make-up before taking one last look in the mirror. The party started in about ten minutes, and she wanted to look her best. Even though all of the families of those at the 4077th were staying on the 30th floor, no one had really seen each other. It was a large hotel and there were a couple dozen rooms per floor, so it wasn't because they were being selfish or because they didn't recognize each other (which they probably wouldn't anyway except for maybe Margaret who had seen a few photographs shown from time to time of her former colleagues' families), but because they just kept missing each other when they left to go do some sight seeing or some shopping.

When she was _finally _happy with her appearance, the blonde grabbed her purse and knocked on her father-in-law's door, not having to leave her room since they were connected. Daniel opened his door and smiled broadly, "Well look at you!"

"I hope you mean that in the good way…?" Margaret beamed, knowing he did.

"Of course!" He tried to look offended, but his eyes sparkled with pride, "You look great."

The young women blushed slightly and smiled again, "Pierce men must have a thing for tuxedos." The former major loved to see her husband in his class-A's, but a tux was just as good. Now, the older carbon copy of him was standing in front of her wearing a 'penguin costume' much like the one he had sent his son a couple years ago.

Daniel chuckled at the comment, "Why thank you!" After sticking a couple of things in his pockets, he looked at his daughter-in-law, "Ready?"

There was a slight pause, "Uh…yeah."

The salt and pepper haired man smiled knowingly, "Maggie, relax. They'll love ya'."

"Hope you're right." And with that, they made their way down to the ball room that had been reserved for the reunion.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Margaret took a deep breath and stepped out of the elevator on the second floor, her father-in-law supportively behind her. The tall glass French doors were closed, but a sign to the right of them said _MASH 4077 Family Reunion_. Daniel stepped in front of the blonde and opened the door for her. Laughter was rumbling, music was playing softly in the background, and the scent of wonderful food was wafting all around the large ballroom. There were a couple tables pushed together in one section of the room with a large white table cloth draped over both of them, making it appear as one large table, big enough for about a dozen people. Each setting had a fancy stack of two plates with expensive silverware and beautiful cloth napkins. A few small center pieces sat in the middle of the table as well, giving it an even fancier look.

All of the guests were mingling on the dance floor. The women looked stunning and the men were all donned in nice tuxedos. Margaret instantly recognized Peg Hunnicutt from all of BJ's photos. She was excited to meet the woman she had heard so much about, but seeing how skinny she was sort of made her feel anxious. The expecting mother was still skinny everywhere else except for the growing baby bump, but she still felt huge and awkward. The brunette turned around when the older woman she was talking to, presumably Mildred Potter, motioned toward the door.

"Major Houlihan!" Peg called and walked toward the newly arrived guests, a welcoming smile on her sweet face.

The blonde laughed and blushed a little, knowing how the woman had recognized her so easily. "Please, it's Margaret. And it's very nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you from your husband," she smiled warmly.

"Well it's so nice to meet you too." The woman shook her husband's former colleague's hand, a joking hint in her eye, "I hope you only heard the good stuff." The two women laughed at the comment and Daniel just chuckled a little, wondering when he would be noticed. "Where are my manners?!" Peg 'scolded' herself. "I'm guessing this is Dr. Pierce?"

"Call me Daniel." He laughed, kissing the woman's hand quick. "It's great to meet you."

"Thank you." The 'greeter' ushered the two into the large room and over to the crowd of about ten people. "It's so nice to finally meet people that know what I'm going through, you know?"

"Very much so." Margaret smiled, knowing exactly what she meant. It was hard to talk about missing Hawkeye with her nurses at the clinic in Maine since they didn't seem to understand what she was going through.

Everyone in this room, however, had a loved one at the 4077th while they themselves were here in the states. A lot of them had probably had the same troubles with finding people to talk to about how they felt about the whole ordeal, but tonight it would be easier for everyone. The support and comfort in the room already seemed evident to Margaret and Daniel, and they had only been there for a few minutes.

Out of the corner of her eye, Margaret saw an elderly Lebanese couple talking with a middle-aged man with thick black-framed glasses, through the help of a younger, olive-toned man. Seeing as how Klinger's parents only spoke Arabic, she realized that the old couple were Klingers' parents. The slightly balding man, that was obviously trying to listen to both the other man and the interpreter, had a sort of innocent look. When she got a better look at him, she saw that there was something in his eyes that looked like everything he heard came as a surprise. The former head nurse had seen a look very similar to that pretty much every day back in Korea and decided that the other man must be Radar's uncle, Ed.

"Come on, let me introduce you guys to everyone!" Peg was in very good spirits, as was everyone else. The three went to where the rest of the party was mingling on the dance floor. The first introduction was with Colonel Potter's wife, Mildred, the one that saw Margaret and Daniel when they first stepped in the door. "Mrs. Potter." BJ's wife placed a gentle hand on the old woman's shoulder.

When she turned around, she smiled sweetly, "You're being much too polite Deary."

"Sorry," the woman, that had been told that several times already this evening, apologized, a little embarrassed.

"Quite alright," the Colonel's wife chuckled. "Now this must be my honorary daughter that Sherman's been writing me so much about," she smiled and looked Margaret up and down. "You look wonderful Margaret."

"Thank you…it's so nice to finally meet you…I've heard so much about you too." The mother-to-be blushed, a little flustered, before reaching her hand out, expecting a hand shake. Instead, she was brought in to a warm, friendly hug.

When the two women pulled apart from their embrace, Peg put a hand on Daniel's shoulder, "And this is Dr. Pier…I mean Daniel."

"Good catch," the grey-haired man winked and then kissed Mildred's hand.

Mrs. Potter giggled, "You're quite the charmer, aren't you?"

The older Pierce man flashed that same mischievous smile that his son had perfected, "I try my best ma'am."

"From the stories I've heard about Hawkeye, it must be like father, like son right?" she asked Margaret.

Margaret laughed and nodded, "That's what I've figured out."

Peg was also laughing when she went and looped her arm through the blonde's, "Shall we go meet the others?"

"I'd love to." She knew already that she and Peg would probably become very good friends.

Daniel followed closely behind the two young ladies with Mildred close by.

"Margaret, Daniel…I'd like to introduce you to Charles and Bethany Winchester."

A woman that seemed, maybe 25 years older than Margaret at the most, smiled warmly. She had a wine glass in her hand and wore a very expensive-looking, obviously designer, dress that sparkled the same color as the red wine in her glass. The dress looked like one would be seen on the Paris runways. On her feet were high-heeled sandals that had small rhinestones embedded in them. Rather large, yet still tasteful, diamond earrings hung beautifully from her ears. Even though the woman seemed rich beyond Margaret's wildest dreams, she was still very friendly. "Hello Margaret, how are you doing this evening?"

"I couldn't be better," was her half true response. She was already having a great time yet was still very self conscious and a little uncomfortable. Not from being around everybody, but from her back being tight and her ankles hurting from retaining so much water.

"Well, if I may be so bold to say…pregnancy certainly has given you quite a glow." Charles the second smiled, reaching out to shake the young woman's hand. Margaret saw where the Charles she worked with got that horrible hair-loss gene. The Charles standing in front of her was completely bald and wore thin, wire rimmed glasses. He looked almost exactly like his son, but his son's eyes were slightly different, more like his mother's. He wore a designer suit and also held a glass of wine.

The expecting mother was getting wonderful comments that night and she loved it. "Yeah, I'll let you be so bold!" She chuckled, "Thank you very much."

"How far along are you, Major?" Bethany asked.

"Well, being about seven and a half months along, I'm no Major anymore." The former Major was gaining a little more confidence and could joke around much easier.

Winchester's parents laughed, chatted some more, and took sips of their wine after also being introduced to Daniel. Sure, Daniel felt like the fifth wheel in the group, but didn't mind as long as he saw his daughter-in-law was having a good time. Her face was lighting up and she was laughing like she didn't have a care in the world. He liked seeing her like that and knew it did wonders for her.

The next people that Peg introduced were the O'Reilys. Edna O'Reily was almost the exact opposite of her son when it came to her personality. She was outgoing and could talk anyone's leg off, but looked a great deal like the 4077th's company clerk. She was in her late forties and had golden brown, shoulder-length hair that hung in tight curls. Uncle Ed was maybe in his mid fifties and, like Margaret had seen earlier, had a look of naivety behind his thick, black-rimmed glasses. After meeting Klinger's parents and uncle, they talked a little about Fort Dix since that's where the big-nosed corporal thought his mother thought he was. A while later, the Pierces headed over to meet Father Mulcahy's sister Cathy. She was taking her saxophone out of it's case, getting it ready for later that night.

She definitely had the body of a basketball player. Tall, skinny, muscular. Her reddish brown hair, a little darker than her older brother's, was tied up into her usual ponytail with her bangs curtaining her forehead. Her face looked like a female version of the Chaplin's in Korea, but she luckily didn't have to wear glasses like he did.

"Sister Angelica." Peg came up beside her, Margaret and Daniel close behind. Mildred and stopped and was talking with Klinger's parents, through his uncle of course, and the O'Reilys. The Winchesters were also making their way over to the small group too. The nun jumped a little when the brunette spoke. "Oh I'm sorry Sister."

"Oh no, no problem." The basketball player shook her head and smiled. She sounded a lot like the Chaplin too. "No, I was just polishing up the 'ole sax. I'm afraid I get a little carried away sometimes and lose sight of reality…" It was very apparent to Margaret that the two Mulcahy kids must seem to 'lose sight of reality' quite easily and then stare off into space after saying they do. The girl's brother's friend stifled a laugh, thinking about Father Mulcahy and the sound-alike contests that had taken place quite a few times back at the 4077th.

Peg, however, couldn't hold her laughter, "Well," she said chuckling, "I just thought you'd like to meet the Pierces." The nun was soon back to reality and held out her hand for the two in greeting, smiling widely. The 'hostess' motioned towards Margaret, "This is Margaret, Hawkeye's wife of course, and this is Daniel," she motioned towards the older man, having fun seeing how much the young lady in front of him seemed to act like his daughter-in-law's descriptions of the lady's brother.

"It's great to meet you both." Cathy laughed softly and shook Daniel's hand, "I bet you're feeling a little left out, hearing everyone tell Margaret that they've heard so much about her," her smile grew some more, "but I can honestly say I've heard a lot about you too."

"Haha, a little yeah, but it's okay…wait. You _have_?" Daniel questioned.

"Okay, so not a _lot_, but I have heard some about you. Francis wrote me once about a long talk that your son and he had had. I guess it made him sort of jealous because neither of us were ever really close to our father. He was a nice enough man and all, but died pretty young." A sad look crossed the girl's face.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Angelica," Daniel squeezed the girl's hand in comfort, "Hawkeye never mentioned that."

"It's Cathy, Angelica's the name I took for the monastery…" she corrected nicely. "But, we don't talk about him much since we were both pretty young at the time, too and never really knew him very well. But, onto happier subjects: I bet you're excited to be a grandfather." She looked over to Margaret who had just felt the baby kick and had a hand on her lower stomach and a sort of preoccupied look on her face.

Daniel grinned widely, putting an arm around his daughter-in-law's shoulders and patting her bump that his grandchild made quick. "I certainly am."

Margaret smiled up at her father-in-law, "He'll be a great one too. He's already started spoiling the little one what with the nursery and everything. That thing is filled with teddy bears and tons of other stuffed critters already," she gave a quizzical look, her eyes sparkling in amusement.

Cathy again had a far off daze. When she came back to the conversation, she sighed, "I'd love to be a mother someday…"

"I can't wait…I'm scared to death…but I can't wait," the expecting mother smiled softly down at her stomach, resting her hand near the top of her very rounded belly.

"Well, based on what Francis has told me about you, I'm sure you'll be a wonderful mother."

"I certainly hope you're right."

"I know I am." She flashed another one of the familiar Mulcahy looks, this one being the _You-Know-I'm-Right_ look. Her expression became a little more somber when she saw the evident love in Margaret's eyes for her unborn child. "I suppose he's told you about me possibly leaving the convent?"

The blonde looked rather surprised when this subject came up, "No, he never told me. Do you think you will?"

"I don't know…Francis wasn't too happy with me when I told him I was thinking about it, really. He thinks I'm a great nun and should stick with it. I just don't know if I want that life though."

Daniel was trying to find something to say for this kind of situation. He had the same concentrated face that Hawkeye got whenever he was thinking of something really helpful to say. "Well Cathy, if I'm not mistaken, I think your brother would end up loving his little niece or nephew as soon as he'd see it."

The young girl, still in her early twenties, nodded slowly, trying to picture that happening. "You know Daniel, I think you're right. Of course, before I worry about that, there's that key detail of finding the right guy and everything." She laughed, feeling much better after the talk with her two new friends.

"That's the hard part." Margaret laughed along.

Pretty soon after, Cathy got her sax 'polished to perfection' and started playing upbeat tunes while everyone else mingled and talked to one another. After three or four songs, Cathy joined in the mingling for awhile. Awhile after she joined the group however, everyone migrated over to the table and ate the wonderful food that was compliments of The Pierre Hotel.

Peg sat next to Margaret and about halfway through the meal, while everyone else was in deep discussion about who-knows-what, the two women were talking about the beautiful dress that the blonde was wearing. "I gotta ask Margaret, wherever did you find that dress? It's really lovely."

The woman in question laughed, "Oh Peg, in all honesty, I found it at a thrift store down the block."

"Really? It looks brand new!"

"Yeah. I figured I'm only gonna be wearing it for a couple more months, and probably not even _that_ long since I know I'm gonna get even bigger, if that's even possible, so why buy something expensive."

"Good thought." Peg nodded, "I don't think I'll ever be able to get rid of my maternity clothes. I know it seems odd, but it kind of seems like if you do, you're kind of closing the door to that opportunity of having more babies… That doesn't make any sense does it?" she laughed and shook her head, wondering if _she_ even knew what she meant.

"No, I think that makes a lot of sense." Margaret nodded, "Are you and BJ gonna have any more kids when he comes home?"

"It's crossed my mind. I'd really love to give Erin a brother or sister. What about you, are you gonna want to have more?" the experienced mother chuckled knowingly.

Margaret rolled her eyes sarcastically and shrugged afterwards, "With how I feel right now, I'm not sure. My back hurts, I still feel nauseous sometimes, my head hurts like crazy just about every other day, I'm occasionally getting enough heartburn that could probably light up every light in this hotel, I'm pretty sure I'm retaining enough water to put any dam to shame, and this baby will probably be a great kick boxer. I swear it must be aiming for my spine since it's been kicking it all day."

Peg was trying to stifle a laugh, something she wasn't all that great at, and nodding when Margaret was through with her ranting. "Yep, I know _exactly_ what you're going through. But trust me, when you see that sweet little face and hold your baby for the first time, you know all the pain was worth while."

"_That_ I can believe." The mother-to-be agreed, taking another bite of her anchovy and mashed potato salad. (Her cravings had been as odd as ever for the last couple of months).

"So have you thought of any names yet?" Mildred asked, sitting on the other side of Margaret. Daniel was then sitting between Margaret and Radar's Uncle Ed.

"A few, but I'm not really sure about them. I'll have to mail Hawkeye my list and see which ones he likes. I just hope he'll let me name the baby after him if it's a boy. I don't know if he's too keen on his real name or not seeing as how he has everyone call him by his nickname, though. Really, the only people that call him that are his father and me."

Peg expressed her agreement, "But then again, Hawkeye is a lot more fun of a name than Benjamin. Much more unique."

"Well, if the shoe fits…" the chief surgeon's wife threw in. This caused several laughs from Mildred and Peg. After the laughter died down, Margaret asked, "So when are we gonna see this surprise Hawkeye's been telling me about in his letters?"

"Oh, you'll see." the brunette smiled mischievously.

**FINALLY! Sorry that took SOOOOO long to write. I feel horrible about not having updated last weekend, but I had a horrible case of writer's block! Don't you just hate that?! But, I hope you liked this chapter and I would just like to thank my cousin, Emma, and Lissy for all of their help and support along with everyone else whose reviewed and sent PM's and such! Thanks a ton guys, that really means a lot!**

**But, as you know, this story's not over! We gotta see what Hawkeye's surprise is too and, yes Bev, there might be some drama coming up… ;-) So, stick around and…go ahead, click that button! =]**


	20. A Couple Surprises

_Author's Note: Hey everyone! Here's this week's update, sorry it's so late! So I uh…hear you guys wanna know what Hawkeye's surprise is? Well, I'm guessing we'll get to that before this chapter's over! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! They mean a lot! Also, thanks to Rachel for those threatening reviews that make me want to write so I won't get attacked by a platoon of North Korean soldiers! Believe it or not, they really do mean a lot and thank you so much! ;-)_

**Chapter 20**

It was about a half hour after the dinner had been served and eaten and everyone was once again on the dance floor. Margaret was dancing with Daniel for the time being since Mildred was away with Peg in the other, small room off the ballroom. "You and Mildred sure have been dancing the night away haven't you?" she teased.

"Oh we've only danced four songs together." He replied, mock defensively.

Margaret laughed, her eyes sparkling. "I hope the Colonel doesn't find out." She had both of her hands on Daniel's shoulder and his were on her hips. They were swaying back and forth a little, dancing like two teens at a school dance. The expecting mother's back hurt too bad to try much else, but with her father-in-law's hands on her expanded hips, she felt like she was dancing to the slow song with her husband if she closed her eyes and pictured the man in front of her as about 20 or so years younger.

The older man looked at his daughter-in-law's face with a small smile while her eyes were closed. He was so glad that his son finally found the perfect woman, but of course he wished he could see the two _together_ before long. She was absolutely glowing right now with the dance lights shinning on her blonde hair and her beautiful fare skin, but he noticed that she was shutting her eyes a little tighter, like something was bothering her. "Margaret?" He had completely forgotten about their previous conversation.

"What?" she opened her eyes fast and subtly shook her head like she was trying to free the cobwebs.

Daniel mentally gave a sigh of relief, seeing that she was just fine, "Nothing, never mind."

"Mind if I cut in?" Cathy asked, smiling.

"Not at all," Margaret grinned, "I was about to go to the powder room anyway." With that, Daniel lightly kissed her cheek before she walked away.

"Are you alright?" he asked before she was too far across the room.

"I'm fine, Dad," she chuckled halfheartedly, walking slower than normal to the restroom.

"Is she okay?" Cathy asked when Margaret closed the door to the little girls' room.

The salt and pepper-haired man shook his head and took the young girl's hand and started dancing a little faster when the music picked up, "I don't know," he shrugged, "sometimes I think she's a little too stubborn for her own good." His eyes truly showed his concern for his daughter-in-law.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

In the small room off of the ballroom, Mildred was watching Peg pace back and forth. "I can't believe I didn't think of it before! How could I have been so stupid to forget?! If Mrs. Klinger sees what Hawkeye and BJ set up, she's gonna _know_ her son's in Korea!"

Mildred sighed, "Well is there a way around it?"

"It's another Clete Roberts interview, there are those little clips of the war and different battles in there." Peg sighed, "Plus everyone says something about Korea a couple dozen times."

"Well we can't just not show the film, it's already set up in the theater downstairs." Mildred tapped her fingernails on the counter, trying to think of something.

Peg folded her arms and looked like she was thinking hard, "We can't just all go down to the theater and not have her come, that wouldn't be right."

"What if we asked the young man down there to show it more than once, we could just all go a few at a time to see it."

"Wait!" Peg unfolded her arms and had a huge smile on her face, "She doesn't understand a word of English, and neither does Max's father! She won't understand what they're talking about."

"Korea's the same in any language, isn't it?"

"But how will she know they're not talking about what it would be like to be _sent_ to Korea?"

"You know, that could work…" Mildred nodded slowly, tossing the idea around in her head, playing out all of the possible outcomes. "That could really work." She got the same look as her husband when he knew an idea of his could potentially work.

"I'll have to go talk to Abdul and see if he has any suggestions." Peg left the small room with Mildred close behind.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Margaret dried her hands on one of the hotel's monogrammed towels and put it back on the brass hook in the large, fancy bathroom. It was a far cry from the latrines at the 4077th, that was for sure. Seeing all of her friends' families seemed to bring back tons of memories from her days as the head nurse at the Army hospital. A sense of strange, unexpected nostalgia for Ouijambu washed over her as she saw all of the people that looked very similar to her friends in Korea. She had to put up with a small dose of that feeling every day after seeing how much her husband resembled his father, but this was almost too much for the former Major. The party was a blast so far and she was having a lot of fun, but every time she saw an expression on someone's face that resembled the kind that would be on her former colleagues' faces, a lump formed in her throat that she just couldn't swallow.

Walking through the tall, decorative wooden door that led out of the ladies' restroom, she headed over towards the small table at the back of the ballroom where the large portrait sat of everyone in front of the big Fort Dix sign. There were tears in her eyes when she was chuckling at the sight of Hawkeye in his tuxedo and cowboy hat.

"Your husband sure does crack me up." Peg snuck up behind the woman admiring the picture.

Margaret laughed, "He's very good at that…" Before she could say anything else, there were even more tears in her ice-blue eyes. She reached up to dab them away, but there were too many. Her shoulders started to shake and she was lost in silent sobs.

The brunette beside her saw and put an arm around her shoulder and turned her a little so she could bring the woman in the beautiful pink dress into a hug. "Shh…I know…I know." Pretty soon, Peg was crying a litter herself, her usually strong self taken down by the fact that she missed her husband so much, just like what was happening with Margaret.

The blonde pulled back a little, "I'm sorry…" she hurried to dry some of her tears, embarrassed. "I…I usually don't cry in front of people, I'm sorry."

Peg cocked her head to the side in question, putting a hand on Margaret's shoulder, "Why on Earth are you sorry, I know what you're going through…for the most part." She felt a little guilty saying she knew what the woman in front of her was going through seeing as how she only really knew how part of it was like. She was pregnant while her husband was still at _home_ and didn't have to cope with the hormones and emotions without him. BJ was there for her every step of the way and, even though she knew Hawkeye would do anything to be there for Margaret through all of what was going on with her body, he still wasn't able to really be there for her except in letters and the occasional phone call. It wasn't his fault of course.

The, still teary-eyed, woman was truly touched by her new friend's concern and support, "It's just a little embarrassing, that's all. I still try not to cry in front of Dad."

"That's really sweet that you call Daniel Dad." Peg smiled, trying to cheer her friend up.

"Well, he's been more of a dad than mine ever has."

"He's a very sweet man." The brunette nodded, looking behind her shoulder at the subject of the new discussion. "I think Mrs. Potter thinks the same way," she laughed.

Margaret watched her father-in-law as well. He was dancing with Mildred again, this time to a very upbeat song that they were doing a very good jitterbug to even (as horrible as it sounded) for people their age. "I don't know about those two…" She shook her head, laughing as much as Peg was. After awhile of watching, they both turned around to look back at the big black and white photo. "Isn't that Fort Dix sign just hilarious."

"It sure is," Peg agreed. At that moment two more people joined the two ladies at the small table. What they heard next sounded like gibberish. Klinger's mother had a few tears in her eyes as she spoke and gently shook her head.

"My sister says that your husbands didn't have to go through the trouble. Evidentially she knew all along that Max was in Korea." The young, olive skinned man translated, seeming surprised at what he was hearing.

Peg's eyes grew wide, "You knew your son was in Korea?"

After Abdul translated her question to his sister, she chuckled with her response. "She says that, no matter how hard Max tried, he could never fool her." Speaking in his own words, he added, "I'm not surprised, my nephew may have a lot of intelligence when it comes to trying to scheme a few dollars into his pocket, but my wife has told me that a mother always knows when her child is trying to trick her, no matter how clever they are."

The two ladies laughed as Max's uncle translated what he had just said to Rashida. She then joined in on the laughter while Peg made her way towards Mildred and Daniel. "Mildred, she knows!" the brunette spoke excitedly, knowing that everything would be much easier now where seeing the interview was concerned. Now _everyone_ could go down to the theatre at once and, even when Abdul translated what was being said onscreen to his sister and brother-in-law, they would not be giving away Max's secret.

Mrs. Potter thanked Daniel for the dances and spoke to the younger woman about the new itinerary for the party. "So," the woman with the white, short hair led Peg to the tables to talk to her in private, "when do we go down to see the movie?"

"Well," the 'hostess' shrugged, "I guess we could do it most any time now."

"Great! I can't wait to see Sherm on the big screen, that'll be the bee's knees."

The brunette chuckled and stood on one of the chairs at the big table, "Hey everyone, can I get your attention for a sec?" All of the guests stopped what they were doing, either dancing on the dance floor, chatting by the snack table, or admiring the picture with Margaret and Klinger's mother and uncle, and looked up at their hostess. "I know, what you guys were doing is probably more entertaining than me but…" everyone chuckled as Peg shrugged, over exaggerated and very humorously. "I just thought this would be a good time to go see what my husband, along with Hawkeye, got taken care of for us! Their _surprise_, if you will."

The small crowd roared with excitement, "Hey, that sounds great!" Daniel raised his wine glass and put his arm lazily around Margaret's waist when she joined the majority of the people on the dance floor, close to where Peg was speaking from the table.

"Do you know what it is, Dad?" she asked quietly. He just shook his head when Peg continued.

"We'll be going downstairs to the theatre where they have everything set up for us already."

In no time, all of the guests were downstairs and in the small theatre. The screen was about medium sized as far as movie theatres go, and there were about a dozen rows of seats with a dozen or so seats in each. The walls were covered in the hotel's colors, green and maroon, and the projector was stationed in a small room above the entrance to the cinema. Lights on the side of the walls illuminated the room with a soft golden glow.

Margaret and Daniel took a row near the front and were soon joined by Peg and Mildred. Mildred took the seat by Daniel and Peg by Margaret. The Winchesters and the O'Reilys seemed to be enjoying each other's company since they sat together and chatted for the whole time before Peg got up and explained what was going on. The Klingers sat in the corner that was pretty much opposite everyone else so Abdul could translate for his sister and brother-in-law. The rest of the party took seats around everyone else, close to the screen.

Peg went up to the small stage in front and waited about thirty seconds before everyone was quiet. "Okay everyone, so you're probably wondering why we're all down here in the theatre." There were several murmurs of agreement before the brunette started again, "Well, thanks to Clete Roberts, we have some more entertainment tonight. BJ and Hawkeye called him about two days after everyone found out we were going to have this little party to see if we could just get one of the old interviews from the 4077th, but he told them that he was so pleased with the doctors and nurses over there that he would talk to Movietone News about letting him do another interview right away. They said yes in a heartbeat because of how great our loved ones are and about three days ago, before I even left home, I got a call from Mr. Roberts saying that the new interview would be on television in a few weeks, but he thought we should have the first viewing. He dropped it off on his way through New York and wished happy watching. So, without further ado, hit it!" She pointed up towards where the man up in the projector room was and the screen lit up with the black and white lights.

Everyone expressed their excitement as the petite women took her seat again by Margaret, "This'll be great!" the blonde squealed happily to her new friend. Peg did the same thing back and they both got a chuckle out of their 'schoolgirl' like behavior. Daniel and Mildred were laughing at them as well over their 'childish act', although seconds later Daniel did the same thing to Mildred.

_Clips of battles played in the background as 'Movietone News' covered the screen, and their music played, gradually getting softer and softer as an announcer spoke, _"_As the war reaches its third year, the soldiers still trudge on, helping to bring democracy to this land. North Korea may still be less than accepting to the idea, but an end to the war _does_ seem to be in the near future._" _The battle scenes turned to a few peace delegates leaving a small building_, "_The peace talks in Panmunjam still go on, and for the first time since being reactivated, seem to be making some progress._"

Margaret watched the beginning of the movie and felt a lump in her throat again. 'An end to the war _does_ seem to be in the near future…' She thought about what had just been said, 'Please be right.' Daniel must have sensed what she was thinking because he squeezed her hand in reassurance. When she looked up at him, his eyes were soft in the grey glow the projector was giving off.

He nodded and gave a small wink, "They know what they're talking about." The woman just chuckled and looked back at the screen.

_The scene changed yet again, this time to a man with white hair and a mustache, holding a silver microphone in his hand and standing by a Jeep, parked in front of the Swamp._"_This is Korea. April 28th, nineteen hundred and fifty-three. I'm Clete Roberts and I'm speaking to you from outside of the surgeons' tent at the 4077__th__ Mobile Army Surgical Hospital – a MASH. This isn't the first, nor the second time that we've been to this particular unit, but we've returned for the third because it's record of efficiency and the people who make that record are truly an amazing story._"

Everyone in the room had the same thought, 'It certainly is…'

"_Excuse me, Doctor." The reporter walked a little bit to the right to 'flag down' the surgeon that had just excited the Swamp._

"_Yeah?_" _The surgeon was Hawkeye. _Margaret smiled as her handsome husband came into better view.

"_Can I ask you a few questions? Captain Pierce, right?_" _Clete smiled as the close up was on him._

"_Didn't you just ask me one?_" There were a few chuckles in the crowd. _Hawkeye grinned, _"_Yeah, you can ask me anything._"

_The older man on camera chuckled, _"_Well, how do you cope with the present situation, here in Korea?_"

"_Really, you just cling to people and you find someone who can help you get through it all. If you're scared, you find someone else whose just as scared as you are and it tends to cancel out. It's like you're so concerned for the other person that your own fears get blocked out, fearing for them… I guess the drinking helps with that too though._"

"_Would you say there's a lot of drinking that goes on around here?_"

_Hawkeye nodded, _"_Yeah, but you have to remember it's like a different world over here. I'm trying very hard to cut back, but sometimes a drink is pretty necessary._"

_The screen changed to a close up of Clete Roberts' face, obviously now indoors since the background was darker and closed in. "Colonel Potter, I've seen the casualty reports. The numbers are astounding. How does this unit keep up its high survival rate for the wounded men that come through here?"_

Colonel Potter's face was now on the screen and, looking across Daniel at Mildred, Margaret could see that she had a few tears in her eyes like she had had when Hawkeye was on. _"Well, you have to take these surgeons into consideration. They're the best damn bunch I've ever worked with. The nurses too. I don't think you could find a better nursing staff anywhere. Those ladies are all a bunch of really swell eggs." There was a concentrated look on the Colonel's face for a second, "The new head nurse does leave a little something to be desired, but she just needs to get in the swing of things really. I'd say, all in all, the reason why this place's efficiency record is as good as it is, is because of the staff here, not because of their leader." The CO winked, "Not that their leader isn't good or anything, it's just that I'm only one person. It's the draftee doctors around here that run the show. They don't listen to orders anyway and to be honest, I think I like it better that way. Makes it feel more like a civilized world around here, even though things get more chaotic every day."_

Margaret laughed, knowing exactly what her former CO and 'surrogate' father meant.

_Next, the screen showed Klinger. _The former head nurse took a guess that he was on one of the benches outside of Potter's office._ "What do you think is your most difficult problem here?" asked the kind reporter. _

"_I'd say doing things the Army way. I mean back home in Toledo, if we wanted something, all we'd have to do was steel it…borrow it…_"The crowd erupted with laughter and after Abdul finished translating what their son had said, Butch and Rashida Klinger were caught up in the laughter as well.

_Radar showed up next._ His mom and uncle sat with proud smiles on their faces as they watched their son/nephew reply to the same answer as what Klinger was just asked, "_I think being away from home and having to deal with missing people so much that sometimes you just hug whatever you can find and pretend it's your mom…uh, I mean girlfriend._" _The company clerk chuckled nervously._

"_That's a very sweet thing to say._" _Clete caught on that the young man was slightly embarrassed and tried to lighten the subject._

"_Father, who do you miss the most from home?_" Cathy smiled as her big brother was being interviewed.

"_Oh, my family of course. My sister Cathy,_"the young girl was rather surprised that he actually used her given name and not Angelica. "_The children I helped coach at the CYO…everyone from civilian life in general really._"

Bethany and Charles (II) were the next to see their loved one on the big screen. "_Tell me something about the people here._" _Clete and Charles (III) were in the Swamp, in the corner of the tent that 'belonged' to the man who's turn it was to be interviewed. _

_Winchester sighed, _"_Well, there are _some_ people, I will try…very hard…to forget, though I…never will. Of course, in a way I really don't think I would ever _want_ to forget the people here. In all honesty I can't say that I liked them much at first, but as the weeks turned into months and then months into over a year and a half, I have become…very close to some of these people, and will probably miss a certain few greatly when this mess is finally over, along with the one I am already missing very much._"

The woman that Charles was speaking of chuckled softly, never really imagining that he would miss her in the least.

"_What do you miss the most, Captain?_" Peg sniffed softly as her husband, still with his cheesy mustache, turned out to be the next one interviewed. Margaret reached over and squeezed her hand in support like Daniel had done for her earlier.

"_My wife's cooking,_"_ he replied, his grin bigger than ever, _"_what am I saying, _anybody's_ cooking._" _BJ bit his lip, obviously trying to hold back some emotions with a joke, _"_My wife…and my little girl. Someday I'd really like to meet that kid…_"

"_It doesn't sound like you'll have to wait _too_ much longer,_" _the white-haired reporter threw in when his face was in a close-up._

"_I hope you're right._"

"_What about you, Captain Pierce, what do you miss the most?_" The man-on-screen's wife smiled as her husband was asked another question. Peg tapped her arm softly and handed her a tissue quick, knowing it would surely be needed.

"_Margaret, my wife,_" _he replied_.

"_You got married?_" _Mr. Roberts sounded a little surprised._

"_Yeah, about four months ago, on Christmas._" _Hawkeye smiled widely, visibly recalling the memory._

_The camera went back to Clete, _"_Margaret…that sounds familiar. That Major Houlihan?_"

_The surgeon nodded, _"_That's her._" _If it was possible, his smile was even bigger than before._

"_You know, I don't think I saw her this morning…_"

"_She's at home, back in the states. We're expecting out first child soon._" _There was a look of pure pride in the man's eyes. _Peg was very right. The look on Hawkeye's face made Margaret tear up very much, just thinking that he might not be home when he officially became a father. There was a good chance that he might be, but then again the peace talks had been going pretty good before and then they would take a turn for the worst.

"_Congratulation._"

_Hawkeye spoke again, the smile still wide on his face, _"_Thanks. Oh, and I didn't forget about you Dad. I miss you too._" _He looked into the camera, chuckled, and gave a slight wave that he knew both his father and wife would see. _This made the crowd laugh again, especially Daniel.

_Colonel Potter once again took the screen, _"_What is your opinion of the people around here?_" _Clete asked._

_Potter nodded, _"_I think I've become closer to these people than I ever have to anyone else I've worked with. These people aren't just coworkers, they're…family. It almost seems like I've _adopted_ some of these kids around here._" _His eyes grew soft, _"_I miss the young lady that I consider a daughter, just as much as my own daughter and my own family. My son-in-law didn't tell me that I was gonna be a grandfather until the baby was a week late, and I was anxious and excited for that entire week before I found out my granddaughter was born. Now I've been like a worried, anxious, and excited grandpa-to-be for about four months again. You get very close to people in a place like this and feel…related to them._"

Margaret had to dab her eyes again with the tissue that Peg had given her. She was very touched by what her former CO had said. At that moment, she felt the baby kick again, a little harder than normal. She lightly rubbed the area that was kicked and smiled softly. 'Grandpa Potter sure is looking forward to meeting you,' thought the mother-to-be, thinking maybe her thoughts could somehow be read by her baby. She knew the idea was pretty off the wall, but it could still have the possibility of happening.

"Your husband sure does have a big heart, Mildred." Daniel whispered to the woman sitting beside him.

"He sure does," she shook her head and chuckled, "every time I get a letter from him, it always has at least three pages, talking about his 'kids'. Especially that one over there," the grey-haired woman smiled towards the expectant mother who was watching the screen with tear filled eyes, much like everyone else in the theatre.

More questions were being asked and answered on the screen, but Margaret wasn't really paying as much attention as she wanted to. She kept getting lost in thought, mostly about the baby and the discomfort she felt since just about every time it kicked it got her in the spine. Only when her husband reappeared in black and white, did she focus once again.

"_What memories do you think you will take home from the war?_"

_The handsome, dark-haired surgeon smiled, _"_I'll remember my wedding day and every day that I was able to spend with the love of my life here._" _He paused for a second, seeming to recompose himself, _"_And the day that she, or my dad calls to tell me that I have a son or a daughter,_" _there were visibly tears in his eyes as he nodded ever so gently._

"_You don't think you'll be home by then?_" _Clete asked gently._

"_I'm praying that I will be…but around here, you never know._" Yet again, the man's wife had to wipe her tears away, trying not to smear her makeup too much.

About a half an hour later, the interview came to an end and there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Everyone was hugging each other in support and heading back up to the ball room since the party wasn't over yet. Within twenty minutes of returning to the large, fancy room, the music started playing and spirits were back up to where they were. Everyone really enjoyed the interview and seeing their loved ones on the big screen, but they couldn't help but admit that it was a little sad.

Now, however, the music was very upbeat and everyone was dancing. Margaret was doing her best to keep up with Daniel, who was trying to keep it slow for his daughter-in-law.

"Mind if we switch?" Bethany and Charles Winchester danced by Edna and Ed O'Reily.

"Sure, you can have her!" Ed chuckled, answering his new surgeon friend. They switched partners and Edna danced with Charles and Bethany danced with Radar's uncle. The others cleared the dance floor, laughing and clapping along with the music as the four were doing the Charleston.

When Daniel and Mildred were about to go back out on the dance floor when the rest of the onlookers did, he saw Margaret making her way slowly over to the chairs, her hand clutching her back. The way she was walking made it look like she was in pain. "Oh God…" without saying anything to Mildred, the old, grey-haired, carbon copy of Hawkeye quickly made his way over to his daughter-in-law. "Maggie? Are you alright?" He grabbed her elbow in support and helped guide her to one of the chairs.

"I'm fine, I just need to…sit down." There was a very pained expression on her face as she awkwardly took a seat, her hand still clutching her back.

Daniel kneeled down beside her and held her free hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb. Peg saw what was going on out of the corner of her eye, "Thanks for the dance Abdul." She smiled up at the man, although her stomach seemed to hurt suddenly with worry about her new friend.

"Any time oh Graceful One." Klinger's uncle bowed while his brunette dance partner made her way over to the Pierces.

"Margaret, are you alright?" Her voice was a little high, much like it always was when she was worried about something.

The woman in question was breathing hard, "I'm fine Peg. I've just been having some pains in my back is all. They just come and go…I'll be fine in a couple minutes."

BJ's wife looked at Daniel, trying to see what he was thinking. His eyes were overflowing with worry as he looked up at the brunette. Her own eyes were wide, knowing full well what those back pains could mean, being an experienced mother and all.

Daniel spoke softly, but loud enough to be heard over the music in the background, "Margaret, how long have you been feeling these pains?"

The pain was starting to go away, so she was breathing a little easier, "Uh, they kind of started on our way down here in the car. Just little ones, but I think they've gotten worse…"

"You've had these pains for that long?"

"Like I said, they just come and go and…" then it hit her. Her face went even paler than it had gone before and she felt a little light-headed. "No…" she was on the brink of crying again, "Oh God no…no, it's too early!" Her breathing became rapid again, but this time because of her emotions, not necessarily the pain.

"Honey, I think we should get you to the hospital," he waited for a small nod from Margaret before helping her to her feet and turning to Peg, "Can you do me a favor, Peg?"

"Yeah, a-anything…" the young woman stuttered a little, nervous due to the present situation.

"Call a cab for us, I don't know where the hospital is…or where the valet parked my car."

"Right away."

**Oh wow, that's a long one! Well, I'll try very hard to get updating again soon, but it may take awhile with Christmas right around the corner! But, tell me what you thought! I really hope it wasn't too confusing. Basically, everything that happened in the interview was italicized and then everything that happened at the party was in regular print, but I bet you realized that huh? Haha. I really hope you liked this chapter as it took a LONG time to write since there was really a lot of 'research' to do (AKA: watching 'Our Finest Hour' over and over again for about three hours). But, I was glad to do it! ;-) I'd like to thank the writers of that fine episode! If you didn't catch on, I used some questions from the original interview and just different answers that I'm hoping you approved of!**

**But…tell me what you thought! Thanks for reading! Click the button!**


	21. It's Just Impatient

_Author's Note: Okay, sorry I left you at such a cliff-hanger last week but I thought you would like a chapter with an abrupt ending rather than no chapter at all… So, here ya go! Oh, and sorry I couldn't get this up earlier, but happy birthday Ankhesanamun! Hope this is a good late birthday present. ;-) Also thanks for the reviews! They always help._

**Chapter 21**

After about two hours and a lot of insisting from Daniel, Peg went back to the Pierre Hotel for the rest of the party. She was going to stay and wait with her friend's father-in-law in the waiting room, but when it got to be about midnight Daniel saw that she was getting restless and even more jittery than he was getting, and decided that she needed to go have some more fun, no matter_ what_ she thought. "Daniel, you don't want to wait forever in this tiny grey room with old magazines for company and uncomfortable chairs by yourself," she had tried to convince him that she was fine, but it didn't work.

"I'll be fine Peg, really." He flashed a small smile, even though he felt nauseous with the amount of worry he was trying to hold down. "Why don't you go back to the party?"

The petite woman that was still dressed up in her best dress sighed, "I don't want to just leave you by yourself in here. Sure, I can't imagine what you're going through right now, but I'm pretty sure you don't want to be alone," her eyes were soft and understanding.

The look in Peg's eyes made Daniel's stomach stop fluttering for a split second, seeing as how it was a familiar look. But considering it was one that Margaret gave him every once in awhile and more so during the last couple of days whenever he asked her if she was okay, the butterflies returned with a vengeance. The old man's shoulders fell a little and a very small, comforting grin spread across his face, "Go back to the party Peg, I'll be fine here."

"Only if you're sure."

"I am," he nodded.

"Alright," the fair-skinned young lady grabbed her purse and donned her thin black summer jacket. Before leaving the waiting room, she turned around and returned the comforting smile, "Good luck…and tell Margaret I'm preying for her."

The expectant grandfather nodded, "Thanks, I will."

There was one more thing that the lady in the long green dress needed to say, "About what we talked about earlier…I'll see what I can do about getting you and Margaret in on it too. Maybe even the little one, depending on when that happens of course."

Daniel chuckled, "That'd be great."

With that, she turned around and was gone down the hospital corridor. The old man returned to his seat and checked his watch for what must have been the hundredth time.

After about half an hour, and about sixty more quick glances to his watch, Daniel jumped when a young, curly-haired doctor stood before him. "Sorry Doctor Pierce." The young man wore a white hospital coat and looked genuinely sorry for startling the older gentleman.

"Quite alright," he stood up, a little more anxiously than he wanted to seem. "So, what's going on?"

"I just thought I'd come out and give you an update." Daniel searched his face for any signs of good news. There was at least one positive sign. The man's eyes weren't clouded over in a way that doctors always seemed to have when they gave bad news, something the old doctor of Crabapple Cove had noticed in med-school residency. He still looked worried though, something that wasn't exactly common for big city doctors about a single patient. "Your daughter-in-law's about two centimeters dilated but we've given her a tocolytic medication to slow down her labor." The grandpa-to-be nodded slightly in understanding, "It'll really only be affective for a maximum of two days or so. Unfortunately, she _will_ be delivering early…"

"Yeah," the grey haired man nodded again, knowing that would come. He was hoping that her back pains were just back pains, but knew that wasn't likely. "So, what kind of a risks are we talking about here?" Being a doctor, he knew what kind of risks there were, but thinking there could be a loophole somewhere, he asked anyway.

The curly-haired doctor shrugged, "As far as we can tell, Margaret's just fine. Her blood pressure is a little high, but it's at the level where it can be easily treated. The baby's heart rate is steady, but at this stage of the game it's lungs aren't fully developed so that'll probably be a big problem for the little one after it's born." Digging into his the pocket of the tuxedo he still wore, Daniel was able to relieve a little bit of his stress by playing with an extra button while he listened to the man in front of him. "Fortunately, this hospital is equipped with all of the new technology that could really help with pretty much any problem there may be." According to his name tag, the man's name was Randy Ortell.

"Do you have any idea why she's so early?" asked the older gentleman, playing with the button in his pocket.

Doctor Ortell shook his head, "We have no idea. Personally I think the baby might just be impatient."

Daniel chuckled, "With the parents that it has, that wouldn't surprise me at all." He paused, "Is there any way I could see her?"

"Of course. She's a little drowsy from the meds, but she's been asking to see you." Randy seemed to have a bit of an air about him that most big city doctors didn't have. He was friendly and warm and had some good-hearted humor that a lot of doctors wouldn't even try after seeing about a hundred patients a day. "Here, right this way."

After being lead through a very long, dark, and actually pretty empty hallway, the Pierce man stood in front of a light brown, heavy wooden door with the normal hospital appearance. It had silver metal trim and a brass holder for a card that said _Pierce, Margaret_ as well as a lot of medical information. There was a small silver number 2 on the door also. He hesitated a moment, but knocked lightly before opening the door, not wanting to wake his daughter-in-law if she was asleep.

She wore one of the blue and grey hospital gowns, her beautiful pink party dress hanging in the small closet opposite the bed. Her golden hair fell loose around her shoulders and she was propped up in the hospital bed, the back raised to where it was comfortable for her. Daniel couldn't be sure if she was asleep or not. She faced away from him, either gazing out the 29th story window at the pretty great view, (oddly enough of the Pierre Hotel and a couple other big buildings), or she was asleep and, to make sure he didn't wake her if it was the latter of the two, he walked quietly to the side of her bed and sat down in the comfortable chair. He reached over to where her right hand was sitting amongst the blankets and lightly covered it with his, letting her know that he was there.

"Dad?" she spoke quietly, not really opening her eyes or facing his direction.

"Yeah, I'm here," her father-in-law replied in the same quiet tone. "How do you feel?"

Turning her head so she was facing him, Daniel saw that she was crying a little. "Scared," she sniffled back a few tears.

The salt and pepper haired man got up and carefully sat on the edge of the bed, Margaret's hand still in his. He smiled comfortingly and teased, "Where's that rock hard Major Houlihan that Hawkeye wrote about to me all the time?" She smiled and started wiping away her tears.

"She's been too busy working and putting her baby at risk…" her small smile disappeared and she looked away from her husband's father.

The statement came as a shock to the man, "What?" he asked softly.

"You and Ben both wanted me to stop working for the time being, but no. I had to be my stupid, stubborn self and kept going until we left to come here. Sure I cut down to half days, but that just meant I worked even harder at home." She shook her head, feeling disappointed in herself. "Why can't I ever just take people's advice and not think I have to be so stubborn to get along in this world…?" The scared woman's tears started up once more, "And now it's not just me that I'm putting at risk, but a little life that I already love with all my heart. It's like I'm already failing at being a good mother."

Daniel's heart sank, hearing that the girl that he had grown to love like his own daughter felt the way she did. "Margaret don't say that," his eyes grew even softer, "You're gonna be a great mother and none of this is your fault." He reached over for the box of tissues that was on the side table and handed one to the crying woman, "Doctor Ortell said you're perfectly healthy and that wouldn't be the case if you've been working too hard. Doctor Bradford in Spruce Harbor even said you were the healthiest expecting mother he'd ever had to examine when you went in for your last check up." He pushed back a lock of golden hair out of the way for her that had fallen in front of her eyes while a small smile played on her lips.

Again, the smile disappeared, but this time a more confused look took it's place on her tired face. She wiped her eyes with the tissue again, "Then why would I go into labor so early?"

"You're a nurse. You know that babies either come early or late…never exactly when they're expected."

"Isn't that saying, 'three weeks early or three weeks late'?" she corrected, "It's a little more than three weeks early."

"Sometimes that's the saying, but in some cases it's earlier than even this." The man with loads of experience, from delivering most of the population of Crabapple Cove, laid a light hand on Margaret's stomach, "But in this particular case, I should have seen it coming."

"Huh?"

Daniel winked, "With a mother like you and a father like Hawkeye, I should have _known _that my grandbaby would be pretty impatient."

Margaret finally let a chuckle escape, putting her left hand where Daniel's had just been. "You're very right…" Feeling a small kick she smiled absentmindedly once more and drifted off into thoughts.

"You should really get some rest Maggie," he started to sit back down in the chair.

She shook her head, "I can't."

"Why not?" the old doc stood up, thinking maybe there was something urgent that he should know about.

Yet again, her smile faded and she bit her lip, staring across the room but not actually seeing anything. "Every time I close my eyes I see the same thing. I'm six years old again, sitting on this big green braided rug in the living room with my, at the time, four year old sister, hearing my mother scream upstairs…"

"Huh?" Sitting back down on the chair, he gently grabbed Margaret's hand again in support.

"I was really young at the time, but I still remember the look on my dad's face when mom was having pains. We were in the backyard at our tiny little house on one of the bases my dad was stationed at in Florida, and my mom just doubled over, screaming. That was the first and only time I've ever seen my dad look scared. All my sister and I knew was that the stork was going to visit in about three months, but we didn't know that it could come early."

"Your mom was pregnant?"

"Yeah," the blonde nodded, "about six months along. Dad helped her into the house and carried her upstairs. The doctor that was on the base only lived a couple of houses down from us and I remember Dad was yelling at me to run as fast as I could to go get him. I did as I was told since I really didn't want to have to go out behind the woodshed again, and I got the doctor. Four hours later, my sister and I are down in the living room trying to get answers out of our father as to what was going on, but he just kept yelling at us to be quiet.

"The doctor finally came down the stairs and told my dad that he had a son that weighed a little over a pound… They both went upstairs and since Rebecca and I wanted to know what the heck was going on, we snuck up there too."

"You had a brother?"

"For about an hour," she replied, a sad look in her eyes. "Rebecca and I heard the doctor talking with our parents, saying the baby had maybe a ten percent chance of making it past the first couple of hours. It wasn't making any noises or moving or anything and, since the walls and ceilings were thin, we knew he hadn't even cried when he was born. I remember how scared I was when I was able to sneak to the door to my parents' bedroom and look inside. The doctor had laid the baby on the bed after he had cleaned him and was examining this tiny…almost translucent little thing.

"And if I close my eyes for too long I see _that_ again and it scares me even more so than I already am. When I was old enough to finally…comprehend what had happened…I've had this fear of having what happened to my little brother happen to a baby of mine. I still don't know _how_ my parents made it through that day after the doctor took my little brother's lifeless body away…" Margaret's shoulders shook as she started crying harder than she had all day. Daniel's eyes were also very moist when he leaned over the bed and hugged the crying woman in his arms. In his shoulder, he was able to hear her continue, "But I _never_ want to know what they were feeling."

"Shh…there there." Daniel tried to comfort the crying girl, but he knew it was a lost cause. She was scared, tired, and stressed about everything that was going on. "Everything's gonna be okay, I promise."

A half an hour later, the country doctor and nurse were both tired and could barely keep their eyes open. They chatted about different things, mostly the night that Hawkeye was born. Daniel had moved back down to his chair, but maneuvered it around so it was next to the bed like a dining room chair with a table. He did the fatherly thing, and gently rubbed his 'daughter's' hand comfortingly while they talked. She would laugh sometimes, although only half-heartedly. When it got to be around two in the morning, Margaret dozed off. Soon after, her 'supporter' migrated over to the small couch that was under the window and fell asleep in his tuxedo.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Margaret sat in a chilly, grey room. She wore a soft yellow robe and sat in the middle of the small grey walls that made up the cold feeling space. In front of her was a small cart, padded with baby-blue blankets. Amongst the blankets was a small, restless little boy with a tiny white diaper fastened with silver baby-pins. He had thin, fuzzy black hair, covered mostly by a little blue hat. A nose that looked very similar to Hawkeye's poked out amongst his miniscule features, and when he opened his eyes, the young mother could see that they were bright blue with tiny little specks of gray in them, a mixture of hers and her husband's. Reaching a gentle hand out, she touched her small son's arm, surprised at how cold his soft skin was. He was pale and looked even more fragile than any other baby the nurse had ever seen. A tiny IV was in his foot and thin tubes seemed to be situated everywhere. _

_She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, seeing the little life in such a pitiful way. "Mommy's here," she whispered through the tears. "You're gonna be just fine. You're strong. It's in your blood."_

_Margaret felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up, expecting to see Daniel. Instead, she saw her husband in his class A's. They looked slept in and, in a way, so did Hawkeye. His eyes were cloudy and he looked a little older than normal, partly from traveling so far, and partly from worry. The woman gasped and stood up, "Ben," she spoke breathlessly and overwhelmed as he pulled her into his arms, making a few of her problems seem to go away. He was _there_. She started crying with a mixture of joy and sorrow, not really knowing how she could be feeling any joy with her tiny son the way he was. But her husband was _there_ and she felt…relieved._

"_Shhh…it's okay." Hawkeye spoke softly, rubbing his wife's back while looking into his son's eyes for the first time and instantly falling in love. "He's a Pierce, that makes him one heck of a fighter," the man stated, more to himself. Squeezing Margaret's shoulders a little, he added, "And he's a Houlihan, that makes him _really_ tough."_

_The woman in her yellow robe wiped a few tears away, "You're right."_

"_I know I am." He flashed a small smile and ever so gently touched his son's cheek. "Hey little guy…I'm your dad." _

"_He looks just like you," Margaret stated, putting a hand on Hawkeye's back._

_The man cocked his head, examining his tiny little boy, "He does, doesn't he?" Straightening up, he took his wife in his arms again and hugged her as much as he dared. "I missed you so much," his eyes looked tired but reflected all of his emotions._

_Shaking her head, the blonde's eyes watered some more, "I just can't believe you're here…"_

"_Colonel Potter set it up with the Red Cross to send me home to be with you through all of this."_

_The young mother's lower lip started quivering, "You mean Colonel Potter doesn't think…" her voice got very strained from the oncoming tears as she continued, "that he'll make it?"_

_The handsome man shook his head, "No," he replied soothingly, "No, he just wanted me to be here with you. He couldn't stand the thought of you going through this alone…well, without me anyway." She nodded in understanding and laid her head on her husband's chest for the first time in months. _

_Turning her head so she could see her little boy she whispered, "I'm just so scared…"_

"_I know, so am I," his voice was raspy with emotion and he rested his chin on his wife's blonde hair. Suddenly, her grip tightened and a pained look spread across her face. "Margaret? Margaret…?"_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

A contraction, much more intense than they had been before the tocolytic medication had been administered to her, seized Margaret's lower half. Grabbing the sides of the bed, she groaned loudly, throwing her head back in pain.

"Margaret?!" Now fully awake, Daniel sprang from the couch and stood by her bedside, giving her his support.

Letting go of the side of the bed, the woman, in plenty of pain, grabbed her father-in-law's offered hand. "Dad…I don't think the baby's gonna wait…" She was breathing hard and clenching her teeth, trying to get through the pain without screaming.

"I'll go get the doctor." The man was trying, very hard, to stay calm on the outside, but inside he was shaking like a leaf.

"Hurry!"

Daniel did as 'instructed' and hurried down the corridor to the main desk where he was just hoping Randy would be. The hallway had become a little more crowded despite the late, or rather very early hour, but he was able to weave through the people to find Doctor Ortell, thankfully where he thought he might be able to catch him. "Doctor!"

The young man looked up from his clipboard and a cup of coffee, "Doctor Pierce?" Noticing the panicked look in the old man's eyes, his own eyes took on a concerned look. Without even needing anything said, he knew what was going on. He turned to the young nurse behind the counter, "Nurse Josten, we're gonna need you in the second delivery room." Turning back to Daniel, there was a professional, yet a little bit of a worried look on his face, "Doctor I need to tell you something. The medication we gave your daughter-in-law is pretty new. We explained everything about it to her, and she still accepted."

"What's the problem?" Even more butterflies spread in the expecting grandfather's stomach, afraid that there was something horribly wrong with either his daughter-in-law or his grandbaby.

"Well, the drug has never been used with painkillers. Mrs. Pierce still agreed to it, but it'll be pretty tough for her, seeing as how this is her first time for all this." Biting his lip, he added, "I don't usually let men in the delivery room, but I think she'd feel better if you were in there with her…"

"Uh, yeah…maybe. Since Hawkeye can't be here…" He felt guilty, being able to eventually see what he knew his son would give anything to be there for, but knew Margaret would really appreciate the support of someone she actually knew and not just a random nurse.

"Well, come on then." With that, the two men hurried back to Margaret's room where she was finally a little bit relaxed, the pain slowly going away, even if it was only temporary. She was using the little bit of time to catch her breath when the two walked in. "Junior's not gonna wait any longer, huh?" The woman shook her head, starting to feel some more pain again. After checking her progress, the young doctor smiled, "Well you're progressing nicely. If the little one doesn't want to make me look foolish, I'd say you'll be meeting your son or daughter in a few hours." Seeing the blonde's nervous expressing he smiled under his mask, "Everything'll be okay Mrs. Pierce. After a little time in the pediatric ward you're baby will be just fine, as far as we can tell."

Twenty minutes and three contractions later, Margaret gasped and squeezed Daniel's hand a little tighter. "My water just broke…" her voice was strained and depicted her fear.

Dr. Ortell went over to the bed from where he was leaning on the wall across the room to give his patient a quick examination. "It won't be long now."

Panting, the soon-to-be-mother clutched at the side of the bed and squeezed her father-in-law's hand, "I gotta push!" she screamed.

**Uh oh…sounds like baby Pierce is in a **_**huge**_** hurry now! Okay, so the medical stuff I'm not too sure about so I hope no one looks too much into that. I really don't know if the tocolytic medications would have been around in the fifties, but that's what I found while doing my research so I stuck with it. I just hope there aren't any doctors reading this! ;-) Or, if they are, they'll take into account that I'm no med student! But, I really hope you liked this chapter and I'm sorry it's so short. But, tell me what you thought! Oh, and I'm sorry it's kinda angsty…. I hope you don't mind. :-S**

**Merry Christmas! :-D**

**PS: I might not be able to update soon, so don't hate me too much for leaving you with a cliffy!**


	22. Labor Pains

_Author's Note: I hope you all had a great Christmas and, if you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you had great holiday season! ;-) But, here's a belated Christmas/'whatever holiday' gift for ya! Thanks so much for all of your reviews and I'd really like to tell Rachel thanks for telling me that what I wrote in the previous chapter sounded good as far as her nurse training goes! That means a lot! Okay, so here you go! Enjoy! And one more thing: there's the 'F' word near the end, but it's perfectly acceptable in the context. Well, I think it is anyway… ;-)_

**Chapter 22**

**MASH 4077****th**** - May 28, 1953 - 6:30 P.M.**

"Where's Pierce?" Colonel Potter stepped into the officer's club for a drink after a long session in O.R. Seeing that BJ and Charles were at their usual corner table, he wondered where the third 'musketeer' was.

BJ shrugged, "He didn't feel well. I think he was gonna try to get some rest."

"Will you, join us Colonel?" the follicle-ly impaired man asked, nodding towards the empty chair.

Potter smiled, "Don't mind if I do." After taking a seat in the offered chair, the old commander turned around and called to Igor to bring him a beer. Facing his younger colleagues again, he took a sip and decided to try and start a conversation. "So, I wonder how the party went."

"Yeah, I was kinda thinking that too…" BJ gazed down the neck of the bottle of his 'liquid courage', absentmindedly. "I just wish I could have been there."

The other two men expressed their agreements and took another swig of their drinks. "We'll probably hear from someone in a week or so, unless they call." Potter chuckled, "I wonder how our little interview went over."

Charles shook his head, "I still can't comprehend the fact that my parents actually _accepted_ the invitation."

"Why?" asked the Mill Valley surgeon.

"Well, no offence Hunnicutt, it's just not something my parents would go to. They wouldn't usually 'mingle' with people out of their…how do I say this? Social class."

BJ rolled his eyes, knowing Winchester's response would be something along those lines.

As soon as Colonel Potter was going to say something to retort the man's pompous reply, Nurse Kellye stepped in, "Excuse me Sir, but do you know where Captain Pierce is? One of his patients is hemorrhaging…"

"Here, I'll help you look for him. He's probably in the Swamp." BJ got up, wanting to get up and away from Charles for the time being. His constant mentioning of 'social classes' was really starting to annoy him.

In the Swamp, Hawkeye was laying on top of his cot having dozed off a few minutes before.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Hawkeye stood in front of a big red building with the usual white trim of a well kept antique barn. In front of the small town surgeon was one of his best childhood friends and they were chatting about the upcoming Halloween events that would take place in the small town on the coast. The tractors were all ready for the hay rides through the forests and the pumpkin patch was occupied by small kids and their mothers, helping to pick out the perfect pumpkins. _

_Turning towards the pumpkin patch, he could see his beautiful wife cut a medium sized pumpkin from the vine. The pumpkin wasn't all that big, but it was still almost bigger than the little girl with black hair beside her. When she reached her hands out to her mother, Margaret laughed and shook her head. Hawkeye could imagine her saying, "Honey, it's bigger than you are. Why don't you let me take care of it."_

"_That girl of yours sure is a cute one," 'Stinky' Barber laughed and shook his head in disbelief that his friend actually _had_ a daughter._

_A smile spread across the proud father's face. "Thanks. She sure is, isn't she? Takes after her mother."_

"_I thought that's who I was talking about?!" 'Stinky' stated, pretending to be confused although his smile told his friend that he actually _was_ talking about the little girl._

_Hawkeye gave a hardy laugh, facing his friend again. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the little figure in her turquoise and blue winter coat running towards him, her long black hair bouncing around behind her and a huge smile on her face. She hugged his legs and he bent down to swing her into his arms, "Hey Sweet-pea, did you pick a pumpkin?"_

"_Yep!" She nodded, her facial features a _lot_ like her mothers. "It's THIS big!" stretching her arms out as much as she could, she showed her dad how big the pumpkin was._

"_That big?" the man's eyes grew wide, "That's bigger than you are!"_

"_Mommy wouldn't let me carry it…" she rolled her eyes and folded her arms, making her seem even more like her mother and very independent, even at three and a half years old._

"_I'm sure she had good reason," he smiled and turned his gaze over to his wife that had just joined the group, setting the pumpkin at her feet._

"_Well, you get to decide what goes on the pumpkin, how's that?" Margaret smiled lovingly at her daughter and ran her hand through the girls fine hair._

_Contemplating her mother's offer, their fair skinned daughter nodded, "Okay, that could work."_

'_Stinky' Barber laughed, seeming to notice the resemblance between father and daughter. Knowing what his friend was thinking, Hawkeye kissed his daughter's forehead, "You're just like your daddy, aren't ya?"_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Hey Hawk, wake up." BJ leaned over his friend's bed and shook the man's shoulder. Not hard, seeing as how he hadn't felt well earlier, but hard enough to wake him up.

"Go away unless you have my discharge papers," he mumbled sleepily.

Kellye had followed the big footed doctor into the Swamp and was now trying to persuade the man to get up, "Doctor, you're gonna have to go back in on one of your patients."

"Alright, alright." Knowing that he wouldn't get out of going to the aid of his patient, and also knowing that he would never forgive himself if something _happened_ to him, he groggily rolled off of his cot, put his boots on, and headed to the OR. The May evening was warm, but just the right temperature to make the sleepy doctor shiver. Pulling his worn red robe tighter around his shoulders, he stumbled to the scrub room, his stomach hurting. Not so much in the nauseous sort of way, but more in the way where it just felt really tight.

"You alright now?" BJ was scrubbing up at the sink beside his best friend since he would be assisting.

Hawkeye turned off the water with his elbow and took Kellye's offered sterile towel, "Yeah I'm okay. It only hurts every once in awhile now."

"Stomach?" the man in question nodded, "Maybe it's something you ate?"

"I haven't eaten since yesterday." Backing into the OR where the patient was already prepped and ready to go, Hawkeye sighed, "I just wish I could call in sick and go back to Maine. Well, New York City for the time being…"

"Not sympathy pains are they?" It was really supposed to be a joke, but after the words left the assisting surgeon's lips, he regretted it, remember how much the dream that the expecting father had had, about Margaret going into labor early, had made him so worried.

Hawkeye gave him a somber look. So rarely would he let an opportunity to joke around slip by him unless something was bothering him, but that was the situation. He couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened at that party. He couldn't figure out _what_ it could be either, except for maybe his nightmare coming true. "She's okay, you know that," BJ's reassuring voice sounded out, bringing the concerned man back to the present.

"I want to believe that," he nodded, "and part of me _knows_ that, but I can't get rid of this nagging feeling that I've got, you know?" Hawkeye said.

BJ nodded, "I know what you mean. I get it all the time but when I call Peg, she says that nothing's wrong. You just…get used to it, I guess."

"Yeah, I guess so." The waiting surgeon nodded, towards the patient, "Shall we?"

**New York City - May 28, 1953 - 5:30 A.M.**

**Delivery Room Two**

"Okay, so maybe it'll be a little _sooner_ than a few hours…" Doctor Ortell went to check his patient's progress again. She was writhing on the bed in pain, clutching at the side rails, and breathing even harder. Daniel had pushed a lock of hair out of her way that had fallen in her face again and was holding her hand, although his old hands were already starting to hurt a little.

As the pain grew even worse, Margaret screamed, digging her head farther into the pillow behind her head. "Come on Maggie, you gotta breathe."

"I'm…trying" Her voice was strained and shook.

"And you're doing great Mrs. Pierce." Randy smiled through his mask, "I think you could probably start pushing if you need to."

"Oh I need to, I need to!" Even though she was really having the urge to push, she was trying to resist.

Thinking he knew what was going on, the man's eyes grew soft, "Mrs. Pierce, it'll all be okay, I promise." The young doctor had a big heart and always saw the positive side of things. Although all of the tests that he had his 'people' do showed that Margaret was perfectly healthy and the baby - as far as they could tell - was pretty healthy too, there was still a chance that _something_ could go wrong, but he wasn't about to say that right now. He was a lot like BJ and the young woman had realized that earlier.

"Thanks Doc." Margaret spoke breathlessly and with a small smile. The most recent contraction was sort of easing off, so Randy suggested just breathing through the rest and waiting for the next one to come around to start the big task ahead.

The next waive of pain came much sooner than they had been through the last three, and the young mother-to-be didn't get much of a chance to catch her breath. Her forehead was gleaming under her bangs so Daniel pushed them out of the way once more, trying to at least make himself useful. He felt so guilty, not being able to do much for her. He had had the same feelings when his wife had given birth to Hawkeye…but it was worse this time since he wasn't even in the same room when his son was born. "You're doing great."

"It's not supposed to be happening like this," she shook her head and her eyes pooled over with, for the time being, unshed tears, "I kept telling myself that Ben would be here for this…that'd he'd see his child being born…and now I don't know _how_ long it'll be until he even meets it!"

Thinking of his son being halfway around the world caused unshed tears to pool in Daniel's own eyes. Instead of letting Margaret see that though, he blinked quickly and nodded, stroking his daughter-in-law's hand, "Hey, don't say that…he'll be here before you know it." He spoke quietly, soothingly.

Feeling the next contraction coming on, the former Major started breathing the way she knew would 'help' and was trying to relax as best she could before the pain intensified and she'd have to start pushing. In between a few of the breaths, she asked Daniel a pretty important question, "Have you been able to get in touch with Hawkeye?"

Shaking his head no, he replied, "Not yet."

The older man thought she would be upset, but instead she replied with a hint of a smile, "Good…I think I know how I want to…tell him." She couldn't say anything else since the pain grew increasingly stronger with each word, causing her to hold her breath to try and get through it without screaming again.

Doctor Ortell adjusted her feet so they were closer to her while Nurse Josten went to get all of the things that could be needed later on, after the baby was born. Telling his patient that she would really need to breathe, Randy took his place at the end of the bed and checked the progress one more time, "You ready to meet your baby?"

"I think I'd…be better prepared…in a couple months." It sounded like a joke her husband would say, but in all honesty Margaret was being completely serious. She really _did_ want to meet her baby, more than anything, but she would've loved to have been able to wait for a while longer so maybe, just _maybe_ her husband could be there too. Finally she couldn't resist the urge anymore. She took a deep breath and held it, baring down for as long as she could, grabbing the railing on the bed and Daniel's offered hand.

"Okay, breathe…you're doing great." Randy looked up at Margaret who was still pushing, "Catch your breath quick and go again."

She nodded slightly, drawing in a quick breath before starting to push again. "That's it Maggie, you're doing great." Daniel gave her a look of reassurance when she managed to look over at him, seeming to look for some more strength.

Forty five minutes later, a tiny part of the baby's head was finally visible. Margaret was pretty warn out and just wanted to be done, but there was still a fair amount of work ahead. She was screaming and panting, almost at the same time. Nurse Josten tried to help by running a cool sponge over the, _very, _soon-to-be mother's sweaty brow. "Hey hey! Here's the top of the head!" Doctor Ortell cheered, trying to grasp just how tired the laboring woman must be.

A seemingly animal like noise pierced the air as even _more_ pain took control of the former head nurse. "I…can't…do this!" she screamed.

"Yes you can Mrs. Pierce, you're almost there. I'd say five more good pushes ought to do." Randy was really starting to get pretty hungry, but of course his patients came first and he'd have it no other way…plus he had a soft heart and was always happy to meet a new face. "Just a little more, you can do it."

"No…I can't!"

"Yes you can, you can do it. Push Margaret!" The grandpa-to-be was getting pretty excited to see his grandchild, and knew that if his daughter-in-law would just keep going, there was no way she could regret it.

Both Nurse Josten and Daniel put a hand behind her back to help her sit up more while Randy kept doing his job at the foot of the bed. Trying her best to take another deep breath Margaret pushed again with as much energy as she dared to muster at the moment, seeing as how she knew it wasn't going to be her last push. The young, freckle-faced nurse counted to ten like she had for almost every push, agonizingly slow. Instead of making it all the way through before she let up, the blonde pulled back, gasping, "Oh my God! It burns, it burns!" she was writhing more and squeezing onto her grips even harder, clenching her teeth.

"I know, but keep pushing. The baby's crowning." Doctor Ortell got even more prepared to guide the baby out, seeing as how it could be any second.

"How would you _know_? When was the last time _you_ did this?!" Margaret hissed at the young doctor.

"My OB professor was a woman, now push!" He was pretty immune to the comments by now, keeping in mind the fact that half the time, women never really _mean_ what they say during childbirth…especially to men. Doing as told, she pushed again, screaming just as much, if not _more _than before. "Here we go! Here's a head!"

Checking for the cord, Randy told her not to push, but it was easier said than done. "I need to push!" she replied in a strained, begging voice.

"Not yet, not yet!" Gently, he removed the cord from around the baby's neck and situated it where it wouldn't do any harm. He tried to hurry, but knew it would feel like an eternity for Margaret. "Okay, go ahead! It won't be long now."

Again, Daniel and the young nurse held her up as best they could as she pushed the first shoulder out with almost all of her might, while Randy helped to guide the head. She only let off for a second to try and catch some more breath before going one more time. "ARGHH!!!!!!!!" She threw her head back once more in exhaustion as the baby slipped out into Doctor Ortell's waiting arms.

Easing her back to the pillows, her 'support' smiled happily at her and then anxiously watched the small, sticky life squirm healthily around in the young doctor's arms. Nurse Josten grabbed one of the soft towels quick and gave it to Randy. He wrapped the little pinkish baby in the cloth and handed it to the very tired, but very happy mother. She was sobbing silently, partly with joy, and partly with the agony of the suspense. It felt like hours before the little thing cried, but it was really only seconds with the help of Daniel's skilled hands, rubbing the tiny, towel covered, back with just enough force while it laid on its mother's chest. Margaret smiled widely and cried even more when it screamed out its fury.

One major question, being 'Would the lungs be developed enough for it to be able to cry on its own?', was answered, so the brand new mother decided to find the answer of her second major question herself. Lifting up the towel a little, she peeked inside and giggled happily when she realized that she had just had a little girl. Her dream had come true.

The doctor cut the cord, and seconds after the little girl calmed down, she had to be taken across the room to be cleaned up and quickly examined. Still trying to catch her breath, the VERY happy and overwhelmed woman chuckled at the sight of the young man talking a very high pitched baby talk to her little girl. _Her_ little girl. "I have a little girl…" she just couldn't quite get used to the idea yet. She was so happy, yet still devastated that Hawkeye couldn't be there with her. No matter how funny it was, seeing the young obstetrician talk to her little girl, a few of the tears in her eyes were in sorrow, thinking that that should be '_her_' doctor with the little baby. The doctor that she'd be spending the rest of her life with.

"She's beautiful Maggie." Daniel stroked her sweaty, matted hair, "You did great. Congratulations."

"Thanks Dad," still choking up with tears she smiled broadly, "Granddad."

There was a feeling that he couldn't describe. The old surgeon had been so looking forward to the day his grandchild was born. He tried mentally preparing himself for it, but it was nothing like what he actually felt at that moment. The pride was immeasurable and his 'manly' tears were along those same lines as well. His thoughts were really divided in three different places: his brand new granddaughter, his daughter-in-law, and his son. He hadn't really expected the war to last so long that his son wouldn't be there to see what _he_ had just seen. Daniel thought that he would be pacing in the waiting room like a normal grandfather, not taking the place of the father in the delivery room. Then again, since men weren't usually let in the delivery room, he half expected to be pacing around _with_ his son in the waiting room. No matter how he looked at it, he still couldn't believe that he had just seen his grandchild being born. The only way he would have traded that would be if his _son_ could have seen it instead like he should have been able to. That stupid war…

"Dad…" Margaret had reached up and grabbed Daniel's arm, taking him from his thoughts and putting him back into reality.

"Yeah?" he looked down at the mother of his tiny granddaughter and noticed that her breathing hadn't gone back to normal, but had actually gotten worse. The butterflies immediately flew back into his stomach, "Margaret what's the matter?"

"I don't know…." she shook her head and tears were pooling in her eyes, falling down her cheeks a couple at a time, "I don't know…"

A thousand thoughts were racing through his mind, all at the same time. Daniel managed to croak out, "What's it feel like?"

"It feels like the same damn thing I just went through!" she yelled in pain and confusion.

Feeling a little breathless, he looked up, thinking about calling the young doctor over. Thinking he could handle the questions that Randy would probably ask anyway, he just asked them himself, "Do you think it's the placenta maybe?"

"No, no! It doesn't feel like that…" she was gripping at her pillow and groaning once again.

Without really thinking what he was saying, Daniel asked, ever so gently, "How would you know?"

"Because it feels like what I just fucking went through…but worse!" Margaret wasn't really _mad_ at what her father-in-law had said, just frustrated by the fact that she was still in agonizing pain and the tiniest thing was apt to set her off.

Letting her outburst slide, the old doctor was trying to keep calm, "Okay, I'm sorry. But it feels worse?" He waited for her slight nod of agreement.

"It just really feels like I have to push again…" she was staring off into space while cringing at the pain, but not really _seeing_ anything. "Oh God…Dad?"

"Yeah?" his stomach seemed to flop once more.

Being able to relax a tiny little bit, Margaret looked back up towards her husband's father, "I think Ben was right…"

**So the new baby Pierce is a girl, but what was Hawkeye right about? Okay, so based on the last bit of this chapter I'm sure you probably have an idea…I know I made it a little obvious, so sorry! I hope you liked this chapter anyway and just remember that I don't exactly know ALL of the details about the whole delivery thing. But, tell me what you thought!**

**Also, I'd like to give Taylor Swift a little credit for Hawkeye's dream since I got the idea from her song 'The Best Day', which is also now one of my favorite songs ever! I highly suggest it! :-D **

**Tune in next time to see what happens next! I hope it won't be too long…**

**PS: Sorry, but there's one more thing! Happy birthday New York Gal! :-D **

**HAPPY NEW YEAR!**


	23. SURPRISE!

_Author's Note: Thanks again for your great reviews about chapter 22! They mean a lot and really help with the morale. ;-) Sorry this took so long but it's semester test time! Yippy…ugh. The good thing though is that we've had so much snow that we're never in school long enough to take 'em! YAY! So, instead of studying…I've been doing this! Just kidding, I've been doing a TON of studying too… Yet I still don't feel ready for those stupid tests. But anywho…since you were all begging for the next chapter, I thought I'd just write it up for you so you could put your minds at ease. Haha. So, without further ado, here we go!_

**Chapter 23**

Daniel was a little confused by his daughter-in-laws statement, concerning his son being right about something, "Right about _what_ Margaret?"

Gripping the corner of the pillow even tighter, she tried to speak as best she could through the pain that just wouldn't ease off. "Our last time in Seoul together…" her breathing was labored and her words were scattered and mixed with short yelps, "Ben was listening to the heartbeat…he said he heard…two."

It made perfect sense, seeing as how she was in so much pain again already, but the idea made the old, small town doctor dizzy. "Two heartbeats?" he asked, his eyes growing wide.

Margaret nodded, still tense with the extreme amount of pressure in her lower stomach. "I told him he was crazy…that is was just an echo…but with how I'm feeling now-" she couldn't take it anymore and let out a scream.

Doctor Ortell was listening to the baby girl's heartbeat across the room and finishing up with his quick examination when he heard his patient's cry. It didn't affect the squirming, slightly open-eyed little life in front of him, so he looked up and gave Nurse Josten his strict orders, "Get her to the nursery and have Doctor Meadows give this little lady a thorough exam and a good cleaning."

"Yes sir." The young nurse wheeled the cart, padded with pink blankets, across the hall and to the nursery before paging for the other obstetrician in he maternity ward.

Randy moved quickly over to the bed, "What's the matter Mrs. Pierce?"

Daniel answered for her, a slightly dazed expression in his voice, "We think there might possibly be another baby."

The curly-haired doctor had about the same expression as the new grandfather. His eyes were wide when he replied with a sort of perplexed lilt in his voice, "That would explain why you went into labor so early," keeping himself calm, he put the buds of his stethoscope back into his ears. While he was checking for the alleged other heartbeat, Margaret was able to relax a bit again and watched him carefully for any signs, good or bad. A small smile spread on his face, "You're right…" he shook his head in disbelief, "I hope your not too tired for a sequel."

Having her suspicion confirmed was more of a blessing than a curse, but the earlier feeling of being overwhelmed grew even stronger. "I don't mean to make this sound like a bad thing…because I'm thrilled…really I am…" her voice was becoming strained again, "But how the hell am I supposed to do this again?!" a panicked tone was woven into the question.

"Isn't there anything you can give her for the pain?" Daniel asked, the guilt of being a man and knowing that his 'species' did this to his daughter-in-law, was on the brink of becoming too much for him.

Randy had to speak a little louder to be heard over Margaret's groaning, "It's too much of a risk. The tocolytic we gave her has never been tested with pain killers. We don't want to put the baby in anymore danger than its already in, coming this early."

"But it's obviously warn off. She wouldn't be in labor yet if it hadn't!" The old doctor had taken the jacket to his tuxedo off before he fell asleep on the couch, but he still wore the white dress shirt and the black dress pants with the most uncomfortable, shiny black shoes he had. He looked a little over-dressed for where he was, arguing with the young doctor.

"She agreed to all of the terms, Doctor Pierce. She knew how hard it would be when she signed the forms." Again, Randy was trying to stay calm, even though he _knew_ the old doc had a point.

"For God's sake, she didn't know she was having twins! Isn't there _anything _you can do?"

"Yeah! Help, maybe?!" The tired woman managed to scream between groans, needing to push but resisting until the doctor gave it the okay.

Seeming to snap back into action, Doctor Ortell turned his attention back to his patient, "You're gonna be fine Mrs. Pierce." He pushed her feet back to where they were and checked the progress the second baby was making. There was no sign of it yet. "We were able to call into the hospital at Spruce Harbor to get some medical information, but how could they miss this?" His question was directed more towards Daniel than to Margaret who was more preoccupied with trying to catch her breath.

"I don't know." He had calmed down a little, seeing as how he had pretty much lost the 'battle', and since he didn't want to blow up on a young, 'inexperienced', doctor in front of Margaret, who had a lot bigger things to worry about. "Doctor Bradford is one of the best obstetricians in Maine, but he must have missed it somehow…"

"We missed it too…" Having two young boys of his own, Randy knew all too well what kind of stress a man could feel, seeing a woman in so much pain, so he didn't blame him much and just brushed it off.

Another scream pierced the air and Margaret couldn't resist the pressure anymore. Taking a deep breath and clenching her teeth, she pushed again with what little energy she could find. After about a dozen seconds, she let off to take a breath, but went right back to the tiring work. Daniel had retaken his place by the mother of his grand_children_ and tried to help her sit up more while also holding her hand. Easing her back down between the contractions, she found time to ask what she was really wanting to know, "How's my daughter? Is she okay?"

"Doctor Meadows is with her now, but as far as I could see, she's gonna be just fine." The new mother nodded slightly with satisfaction, even though she knew that was the only answer she'd get at the moment, no matter _how_ accurate it was.

About ten minutes later, the second baby was in sight and Margaret was almost at her breaking point. She kept going though, wanting nothing more than to hold her babies. The thought kept circling around in her head, _babies_. Never in a million years had she expected it. Sure, what Hawkeye had said sounded funny at the time, but she never thought it was actually _true_! She just thought her husband was being, well…himself. Because of all of the work and exhaustion his 'truth' had become, she found herself thinking negative thoughts every once in awhile. Making those thoughts escape though, she was able to think about the good things that would happen in the future…all while she was in agony. Her thoughts were a nice relief out of reality for about a second or so, but the pain was still there no matter how hard she tried to make herself relax.

"Come on, push. Only a little ways left."

"You said that already." Her voice was strained while she pushed. When she felt something slip out, she gasped, "That doesn't feel like what happened before…"

"That's because it's not a head, it's a leg." Hearing another shaky intake of breath and then a groan from the blonde before him, he gently urged her, "Just keep pushing."

After another five minutes, the 'hardest' part was over and all of the baby was out except for the head. The young doctor had only delivered about a dozen other breaches, but was well trained and knew exactly how to do it so the baby wouldn't be injured on the way into the world. Of course, he couldn't control where the umbilical cord was, but as far as he could tell, it was out of harms way. "Okay Mrs. Pierce, push! One more time!"

One more push did it and the baby was delivered safely into Randy's waiting arms. He gave the little baby to its mother while he went to grab a towel since he didn't have a nurse assisting at the moment. Margaret carefully adjusted the small baby so she could see what it was. The same thing that happened with her emotions before happened with her _son_. She was crying because she was ecstatically happy, but also because her little boy wasn't crying yet. He was moving his tiny arms and legs around a bit on her chest, but he wasn't making a sound. Doctor Ortell returned quickly with a towel and a suction bulb, cleared the fluid out of the little boy's mouth and nose, and did what Daniel had done earlier with the girl. But the baby still wasn't crying and the tension grew even more.

"Doctor Pierce, get the clamps and the scissors out of that top drawer over there. We gotta cut the cord, quick." The young man was still trying to get the little boy to cry, and motioned over towards a cabinet on the other side of the room.

"Got it." Daniel found the right instruments and headed back over to his daughter-in-law and grandson.

"You know what to do…" Randy put his trust into the older man as Margaret watched her little son carefully, preying for him to start crying. She had been lucky with her daughter, less than an hour ago, but would it go two for two?

The old doctor worked quickly, but carefully, still thinking about his son who really _should_, in his eyes, be the one doing the task at hand. When the cord was cut, Dr. Ortell tried rubbing the baby's back one more time…it worked and finally, everyone was able to take a sigh of relief as the tiny little life cried for the first time.

"There we go." Randy stepped back and smiled, a waive of relief running through the young man. Of course, the amount of relief that went through him was nothing compared to the amount that the brand new mother and grandfather felt.

"That's my little guy." Tears of joy and relief ran down Margaret's cheeks as she cradled her son in her arms. It only lasted for awhile before he was taken to the nursery by Doctor Ortell to be cleaned and examined.

Nurse Josten came back into the room and was surprised to see her colleague, go through the door with another cart he must have brought in earlier. This one had blue blankets for padding and she was even more surprised to see a little baby in the cart, although what Randy would be doing with an empty cart, she didn't know. "Take care of Mrs. Pierce, I gotta go take this little surprise to the nursery." He moved swiftly past her and toward his destination.

Smiling, the nurse nodded. "Yes sir." Walking in to the room a little further, the young lady greeted the new mother and grandfather with a warm smile and congratulations. After about twenty minutes, she left when Doctor Ortell came to the door and quietly called for her. Margaret was a little nervous, wondering why he would be needing the young nurse again, but was happy to find out that she was just bringing the little baby girl in to be fed. "I think this little lady's pretty hungry."

The brunette reached down and carefully picked her up out of the cart. The little girl was wrapped in one of the hospital's pink blanket and wore one of the pink hats. The, now wide-eyed little life was looking at her surroundings. Her mother reached her arms out anxiously, no matter how tired she was. She wasn't too tired to hold her daughter though, that was for sure. A while later, the little girl was 'having a drink at the bar' as her father would put it, and was looking pretty sleepy, much like her mother. Margaret stayed awake though long enough to feed her daughter and ask some pretty important questions. "So uh…is she gonna be okay?"

Nurse Josten nodded, "I bet you feel like you're getting the same answer all the time, right?"

"Yeah," the blonde looked down at the small little girl in her arms and couldn't help the smile that spread on her face, no matter how worried she was.

"Well, I hate to have to tell you the same thing, but to be quite honest, as far as Doctor Ortell and Doctor Meadows could see, she's gonna be just fine," she was a lot like Kellye Nakahara, sweet, gentle, to the point, and not afraid to have a little humor when the time called for it. Taking on a little more serious tone, she continued, "They said that her lungs are a little under developed, but she'll just need a little time in one of the incubators in the nursery."

Margaret nodded in understanding. "And my son?" Seeing as how he had taken much longer to start crying, she was pretty concerned about him. Her eyes depicted the fear that he may not be so lucky.

The nurse on duty shook her head, "I don't know. They haven't been with him for long. But, I'm sure that Randy will come in as soon as they know something." Knowing how much the new mother would want to know about her other baby, she added, "Why don't I leave you three alone and go see about your little boy." With that, she quietly made her exit and went across the hall to see what was going on with the other new addition to the Pierce family.

"Dad…" The tired woman carefully laid back against the pillows, keeping herself propped up, and was careful not to disturb her daughter too much. She was trying, very hard, to keep her emotions in a somewhat 'together' fashion, but it wasn't working very well.

"Yeah?" Daniel asked, taking a seat on the edge of the bed to get a better look at his granddaughter.

There was a pause while Margaret tried to think of how she would say what she wanted to. Finally, she spoke, but barely above a whisper, "Do _you_ think they'll be okay? Honestly?"

"Maggie, they'll be just fine. Sure, it's kind of a rough, early start, but they'll be okay. You gotta remember, they're not just Pierces, but they're also Houlihans. That makes them extra strong." The definite future spoiler of his grandchildren winked at his daughter-in-law.

She nodded and smiled, remembering her husband saying almost the exact same thing in her dream, "I guess that's true." The new mother gazed back down at her little daughter, who was now pretty full and done 'at the bar' for the time being. Smiling even wider, she noticed something, "She's got her father's nose."

Daniel chuckled, "That she does…and his eyes. Hey, I think she has your chin." He reached over and ran a very gentle finger on his granddaughter's cheek, "She looks just like her grandmother." His voice cracked with emotion.

"Does she?"

"Yeah, she would be so proud of her grandchildren."

A thought struck the very tired woman. Even after talking about Hawkeye's mother several times, she still had no idea what her name was. Now was the right time to ask, "What was her name?"

"Alicia."

"Alicia…I like that." She thought it over a few times and came up with something she knew no one would have any objections to. "Alicia Danielle Pierce. After her grandma and grandpa."

Wiping the tears out of his eyes, the small town surgeon replied, his voice husky, "I like that too."

"I think Ben will as well," she nodded, bringing up her small daughter so she could give her a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Welcome to the world Alicia."

A few minutes later, Margaret was still exhausted, but she made sure to stay awake so she could find out about her son was soon as possible. She was starting to get even more worried when no one had come in to say anything for awhile. Just when it almost got to the point where she wouldn't be able take it anymore, Doctor Ortell walked into the room. She was so afraid that the worst had happened, that she didn't notice him come in.

"Mrs. Pierce?" He addressed her very quietly, seeing the little girl fast asleep in her mother's arms.

The very worried woman looked up, a couple tears escaping from her eyes. "How is he?" Her voice broke, trying to ask the short, but life changing question.

There was a more professional air in his voice than what she had heard before from him, "His lungs aren't as developed as his sister's so he'll need more time in the incubator and he's on an I.V. right now, but Doctor Meadows and I both think that he'll be just fine in a couple of weeks. His heart is working as good as could be and he's pretty alert."

"Will he make it through those couple of weeks?" Margaret was crying a little harder, but trying not to wake up her daughter.

Randy nodded, "He's small, but he's also pretty strong. He'll be okay." Moving towards the bed, the doctor reached down and gently picked up the tiny little girl and laid her in the cart to take back to the nursery so she could go into one of the incubators herself. "You should really get some rest. Try to sleep for awhile and then we'll see about getting you across the hall to see both of your kids together."

Margaret reluctantly watched the doctor push the cart out of the room. When he was gone though, she laid back against the pillows again and closed her eyes, too tired to do much else. Daniel stroked her hair like any good father would, offering her a little comfort. _His_ emotions were all scrambled so he couldn't imagine what _she_ must be feeling.

Deciding that his daughter-in-law must have been asleep, Daniel got up from where he was sitting on the bed, careful not to wake Margaret, and went to find the young man that delivered his grandchildren. He finally found him in a small room off one of the grey corridors, "Doctor Ortell?"

"Yeah?" The curly haired man was drinking another cup of coffee and was looking very tired.

Stepping into the room, the older doctor reached his hand out as an offer to shake the younger man's hand, "I'd just like to say thank you. For everything you did in there for Margaret and for my grandchildren."

Randy stood up and shook the man's offered hand, "Your very welcome Sir. I'm glad I could've done it. And just know that, in a couple of weeks, maybe even less, the babies will both be just fine. For being almost two months premature, they're pretty healthy. Very lucky."

"_Very_ lucky," Daniel nodded. There was a long silence before he continued again, "Listen…I'd like to apologize for what I said in there-"

"Don't mention it Doctor Pierce, I have two little boys of my own. I know what kind of stress can be put on a man, seeing that."

"I've delivered pretty much everyone in Crabapple Cove, but I've never had to see my daughter-in-law in so much pain. Heck, when my wife had my son I didn't even see that. I was pacing in the waiting room. I've never had to see someone I love go through all of that. It's always just been different patients."

"I understand completely."

The two talked for awhile longer before Daniel asked where a pay phone was. "I'd like to call my son, tell him that he's a father."

"He's in Korea, right?"

"Yeah, he's the chief surgeon at the 4077th MASH. Margaret was the head nurse." It made him even more proud of his son and daughter-in-law whenever he said that.

"Is that so?" The man was obviously very impressed. "Here, you can use the phone in here. You'll never get through to your son on a pay phone without spending a couple hundred dollars in nickels."

"Well thanks, I appreciate that." Taking a few paces over to the counter to pick up the phone, he chucked, "Are you gonna put the long distance call on the hospital bill?"

Randy laughed, "It's on me."

About ten minutes later, someone finally came on the line again. "I'm sorry, but your call couldn't be put through."

"Why not?!"

"All phone calls, wires, and mail is on hold right now on account of Eisenhower's visiting Korea for the peace talks and the secret service doesn't want to take any chances." The man on the other line explained.

"Look here, Buster, my son, who is stationed in Ouijambu, just became a father and you're trying to tell me that I won't be able to tell him until who knows when?!" Now he was getting angry.

"I'm sorry sir, I can't put the call through."

Although feeling rather frustrated, Daniel tried to calm down a bit, "Well can you tell me when he's expected to leave?"

"I'm sorry sir, I can't. And I'm gonna have to cut you off." The line went dead.

"Damn it!" He slammed the phone down in frustration, not having really calmed down _that_ much.

"Couldn't reach him?" Randy was hoping that the older man's outburst wasn't due to something worse.

Daniel sighed, "They're stopping all kinds of communication on account of Eisenhower going to the peace talks…" He went over to the table that the other doctor was sitting at and took a seat across from him. "They won't even say how long he'll be there."

"I was in Korea when he visited the first time. I was stationed at the 8055th. That was the week I got my orders to come back home but I couldn't call my wife to tell her."

"Did you surprise her instead?"

"Nope," he replied, "I ended up having to wait for two weeks before I could get to Seoul. It was killing me the entire time though, not being able to call and tell her." The young man looked back at the coffee pot behind him, "Want some coffee?"

"Sure, I could use a little pick-me-up." Doctor Ortell got up from his seat and poured a cup of coffee for his 'company'. When he handed the small white mug over to Daniel, he continued. "I remember that first little visit of his all too well."

"Oh?"

The memory of that telegram would be with him forever. It had all worked out, and his son was okay, but the feelings that the old father felt that day would never leave his mind until Hawkeye was safe at home, if at all. "I got a telegram that week saying my son was killed."

"Oh…I'm sorry." Not knowing the whole story, Randy thought that Daniel had had another son.

"Well, it all turned out okay and it was just a mistake that someone at graves registration had made. I called the 4077th, trying my hardest to find out _how_ my son was 'killed' but there was too much static. Finally the line just went dead and I could barely keep going for that whole time."

"Then what happened?" the obstetrician asked over his mug.

Taking a drink of his own coffee quick, he spoke up again, "About four days after I found out about my son's apparent death, I got a phone call. When I heard who was on the other end I thought it was just a cruel joke, but it was really Hawkeye. I couldn't believe it…I kept asking him different questions that I knew only he would know but I still couldn't believe that my son was alive, especially after the Army had pronounced him dead."

"That had to be rough."

"It was…very." Another sigh, "Now I just want to call and tell him that he's a father and I can't. I can't even send him a wire."

A pudgy nurse appeared at the door, "Randy, we need you in the fourth delivery room. Fast."

"Well, my break's over," the man donned his white lab coat and got up from the table. "Hey Brenda," he was almost out of the room when he stopped to give one of his best nurses an 'order', although he wasn't really one to order his staff around, "Let Daniel into the nursery on your way back."

She just gave him a thumbs up and he was off down the hallway and back to work. The grandfather took the last couple gulps of his coffee, thankful that it wasn't too hot. "Let's go, I wanna see my grandkids!" He got up excitedly and followed the red-head down the hall, more and more butterflies flying into his stomach. He was anxious, but nervous as to how his grandson would look, connected to the I.V., and then about both, being in the glass-like boxes. He knew they helped them and that because of them, they would be healthier, but it still gave him a heavy feeling on his shoulders.

His anxious feeling was thankfully not as severe when he was let into the nursery and to his grandkids. They were side by side and sleeping soundly in the incubators. The nurse brought over a chair for him so he could sit between them and soon disappeared to do her job in the delivery room two doors down from where Margaret was. The little boy stirred and slowly opened his eyes about half way. They were identical to his sister's, bright blue like their father's. A few tears welled up the grandfather's eyes when he saw the different parts of his son in the little boy, not to mention how he had been pretty teary-eyed when he saw the same things with his granddaughter.

"Hey kiddo," his voice was rough and breaking from all of the day's emotions, but soft and gentle all the same. Since he had scrubbed before he entered the room, about half full of babies, the nurse said it was okay if he stuck his hand in the incubators through the little door on the side for a short time. Normally, they only let the doctors do that and a lot of times, the mothers or fathers, but Daniel was a special case…he was a doctor himself. He opened the small door and touched his tiny grandson's hand, ever so gently. It was so tiny and soft yet when he put the tip of his little finger in the almost miniscule palm, the little boy was able to wrap his little fingers around it. Daniel's heart warmed and he knew for sure that he was hooked for life. "Your daddy is just gonna be thrilled about you two." He was starting to feel rather guilty again, being able to experience all the things that his son should have been able too.

**MASH 4077** **- May 28****th****, 1953 - 8:30 P.M.**

Hawkeye and BJ had been done in O.R. for about half an hour and were now back in the officer's club with Charles and Colonel Potter. Everyone was drinking and having a good time, just trying to get their minds off the war. Well, everyone was having a good time except for Hawkeye. He had flipped his chair around so he was sitting on it backwards and was now resting his head on his arms, folded across the top of the rickety old seat. The unknowing father was trying to keep up with the conversation, but was failing miserably. Most of the time, he'd just drift off into his own little world while his stomach flopped with worry.

BJ could see what was going on with his friend and stood up, putting a hand on his best friend's shoulder, "Come on, we're going to Radar's office," he 'ordered' in an almost demanding, yet gentle tone.

"What for? Did he lose his teddy bear again?" The humor had sort of returned, but not in full force like it usually would.

"No, we're gonna call the Pierre Hotel. Someone from the reunion is bound to be up, no matter how late they decided to turn in. I'll prove to you that Margaret's okay."

The two men walked silently to the office where Radar's clicking on the typewriter was loud enough to be heard from the Swamp. Before they stepped into the office, Hawkeye made a 'non-threatening threat' to his friend, "You better be right."

"I always am." The mustached man flashed one of his cheesy grins and opened the door for his fellow Swamp Rat and followed him in. "Hey Radar, we gotta use the phone. Can you get us to the Pierre Hotel?"

The short corporal looked up so his dirty glasses looked even dirtier in the light, "I'm afraid I can't, Sir."

"What?!" Hawkeye's last bit of hope crumbled with those five little words, "What do you mean you can't? Tell Sparky I'll give him anything! Free scotch, vodka, gin, anything! I'd even give him the still right now if he wanted it! Come on, you gotta get me through to New York!"

Seeing that maybe the man wasn't in his right mind, Radar glanced over to BJ, "Sir?"

"Just get on the phone, Radar." BJ managed to ask a little more calmly than Hawkeye.

"Well I would if I could Sir, but I can't…not for awhile. I mean I can for local calls in Korea and such, but not for over seas calls like the one you want to make which would be over seas if it's New York." He was talking in circles again, having been made a little nervous by Hawkeye's ranting.

The sandy-haired man understood though, "Why not?"

"Security's extra tight again since Eisenhower's coming for the peace talks again. They don't wanna take no chances."

"Oh no…not again….not now! I have to get through to Margaret. I have to know she's okay!" Hawkeye's heart sunk even more. "Every time the phones get cut off to the states, something bad happens…first I was pronounced dead and couldn't get in touch with my father…who knows what's going on this time!"

While BJ tried calming Hawkeye down, he was able to ask, "Can we send a wire, or something?"

"All kinds of communication have been put on hold, even mail." Despite his bad eyesight, the nearsighted corporal could practically _see_ the man's hopes fade. "Captain," he addressed BJ, "is he okay?"

It was a good question really, considering that the subject of that question was now pacing the floor by Radar's cot. "First time father jitters…a little early." The two spoke quietly for a few moments while Hawkeye continued pacing. When he settled down a little, BJ caught him by the shoulders and guided him to the Swamp. It was early, but he figured his friend just needed to get some rest.

"What are you doing Beej?" The raven haired man was a little perturbed at his friend for getting his hopes up, but knew it wasn't his fault why he couldn't get through to Margaret.

"We're bringing the party in here," BJ poured a drink from the still and handed it to the clearly anxious man. "You should get some rest. Aside from that nap earlier, you haven't had much sleep in the past week. We'll get in touch with Margaret soon."

Hawkeye took the glass and spoke over the rim, "God I hate this place…"

**New York City - Maternity Ward**

It had been about two hours since Margaret had fallen asleep. After spending about an hour in the nursery, Daniel went back to his daughter-in-law's room and was flipping through an old magazine one of the nurses offered him. He was tired, but stayed awake by drinking coffee. Plus there were so many thoughts in his mind that would make sleeping impossible. The only reason why Margaret could was because she was so worn out.

When the old magazine got too boring for him, he set it down on the couch and walked over to the window to take in the view. He was lost in thought, looking at all of the large buildings and all of the people on the streets that looked like little ants from as far up as he was. The big city was truly amazing, but he wouldn't trade his little slice of heaven in Crabapple Cove for anything. When he heard movement behind him, he looked to see Margaret stir and open her eyes. Moving towards the bed, he smiled, "How do you feel?"

"Sore." She replied, feeling groggy and a smile spread on her face, "And I really wanna see my kids."

Stroking her hair, Daniel nodded, "I'm sure we can get that arranged. I'll be right back." With that, he went to find one of the nurses at the main desk by the elevators. When he came back, he had an older blonde nurse with him and they helped Margaret into a wheel chair.

She couldn't help the tears that again welled up in her eyes when her father-in-law pushed the chair into the nursery. Seeing her little, tiny babies made her so happy, but in a way, it really sort of made her sad as well. Like Daniel, she hated seeing them in the glass-like boxes, but she too knew it was for their health. They'd have a much better chance this way, but seeing them look so fragile just pulled at her heart a little too much more than she could handle. The little girl was wide awake, so she went to her first. "Hi Alicia. Remember me?" the young mother spoke softly, not wanting to startle her little angle.

"Here Mrs. Pierce," the nurse reached around and opened the little door on the side.

Looking up at the older woman, Margaret smiled and expressed her thanks. Moving her gaze back over to her little daughter, she reached her gentle hand in and ever so softly rubbed Alicia's smooth, warm arm with the back of her fingers. "It's okay. Mommy's here." She reached up and gently lifted the tiny pink hat up for a moment to see what color the fuzz on the top of her head was. As she had expected, it was Hawkeye's pitch black hair. The thought made her smile happily as she carefully put the little flap of the hat back down. "I love you so much. I can't wait until your daddy gets to see you." She had to rub her eyes a little since the tears were making it hard to see the little girl in front of her, "It won't be long. He'll be here soon." Alicia wriggled around a little in a way that made Margaret giggle with pure happiness.

"I think her brother just woke up." Daniel had been watching the scene and had felt a few hot tears run down his cheeks. He was able to wipe them away, however, before anyone saw.

"I'm gonna go talk to your little brother now, okay?" The emotional blonde kissed her finger and then carefully touched her daughter's cheek. "Love you."

The little girl's grandfather helped her mom turn around so she could talk to the little boy. The older man took her place however and, even though he wasn't her mom, she liked listening to what he had to say too. His voice sounded very familiar to the little ears, it was warm and kind.

The little ears in the other incubator was treated to another familiar voice. One that was a little more soothing, but had the same kind and gentle tone to it. The nurse had opened the door to _his_ box now and he could feel his mother's warm, soft touch on his cheek. "There's my little man." He loved hearing that voice after hearing all kinds of strange ones all the time he was awake. The ones that he didn't recognize ended up sticking him with needles or sticking a cold, shiny, round thing on his chest. But the voice he heard now, he had heard for the past seven and a half month and it was one he knew wouldn't hurt him. "You know…" his mother's voice continued softly, "I want to give you a very special name. How does Michael Benjamin Pierce sound to you?" He brought his tiny little hand up to his face and touched his cheek where his mommy had, moments before. "Michael after your uncle, my baby brother, and Benjamin after your daddy whose gonna be thrilled to find out about you." The little boy, just named Michael, was very happy and made a little more comfortable when his mom touched the palm of his little hand with her finger. He tried his best to wrap his fingers around it like he had with a much larger one earlier.

Margaret's heart melted, "You're gonna be just fine. And your daddy's gonna be so proud of you and your sister." She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up, half expecting to see her husband from the dream she had had earlier. Instead, it was only Daniel.

"They're beautiful Maggie." He may have successfully hid the tears, but the look of grandfatherly pride was clearly visible.

The new mother nodded, "That they are." She cocked her head, noticing something under her son's blue hat. Reaching in again, she carefully lifted up a small part of his hat and giggled with a mix of surprise and happiness.

Daniel bent down to see his grandson at eye level, but couldn't see what was so funny. "What is it?" he asked.

"Mikey's got his mother's hair." She was still giggling when she replied.

Still not seeing it, he bent down even further to take a better look, "Well I'll be damned…"

It hurt her stomach, but she was still chuckling at what she had just discovered, "You didn't think I was a natural blonde did you?"

**So **_**that's**_** why she was so early! Well, it certainly makes sense… I would just like to say that I named the girl after one of my best friends because she has helped me a lot with a lot of different things, and she's always there when I need her. I hope she likes it! And…it's pronounced Ah-Lee-See-A, not A-leesh-a. Hehe, sounds more Italian the other way. ;-) As for Eisenhower visiting Korea and the communication breakdown thing, well that idea came from 'The Late Captain Pierce' so I, of course, cannot take all of the credit. And, I'd just like to remind you that I'm no doctor so, go easy on me! But, PLEASE tell me what you thought! :-D It'd mean a LOT to me!**

**Oh, and what **_**is**_** Margaret's natural hair color I wonder…? I guess you'll just have to wait and see! ;-)**

**PS: I know the twins thing is similar to what I did in Stuck in the Cove, but this is a different story and I've been planning out how Hawkeye's gonna find out for awhile so I just REALLY wanted to do it this way. Plus, this is a TOTALLY different story…hopefully there aren't any objections? :-S **

**Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more!**


	24. Congratulations Daddy!

_Author's Note: Again, a hundred thanks for your awesome reviews! I'm so glad you liked the last chapter, so I hope this one will be good too. And let's see if I can get the paragraphs a little shorter this time! ;-) Sorry this took SOOOOO long to update. (My reasons for that at the end.)_

**Chapter 24**

**MASH 4077****th**** - June 10****th****, 1953**

It had been an agonizing two weeks. It hadn't been a _full_ two weeks since Hawkeye started feeling like something wasn't right at home, but it was close enough. Every day he'd go into the office, about twelve times, and see if he could call Margaret or his dad, or whoever, but every day it was the same old answer. The lines were still down for security reasons since Eisenhower was still in Korea. 'At least the peace talks must be going smoothly…' Hawkeye scoffed inwardly at the thought.

Colonel Potter was opposite the table in the OR when he heard, for right now, the assisting surgeon's disagreeable sounding grumbling. "You okay Pierce?" He had been anxiously waiting to see how the party had gone too, but he wasn't nearly as worried as his young colleague was.

"I'm fine Colonel." He replied, retracting some of the tissue that was in the way of the older man's surgical instrument.

"Didn't sound like it. Sounded like your feathers were ruffled again."

"Shouldn't talk in the Operating Room be strictly medical, doctors?" There was a snide, snotty, high pitched voice coming from behind Hawkeye.

He definitely didn't feel like dealing with her crap today, "Shut up Casey or I'll have to stick this retractor where the sun don't shine." he snapped at her while chuckles rumbled through the room.

"Colonel! Are you gonna let him talk to a superior officer like that?" She stamped her foot and crossed her arms, acting like a spoiled little brat.

The CO shook his head, "No, I'm not gonna let him talk to a superior officer like that," the Missouri man's voice was dripping with mockery. His tone returned to normal, "but I'll let him talk to _you_ like that." Almost everyone in the operating room had to bite the inside of their cheeks in order to keep from laughing too hard.

BJ wasn't worried about letting his chuckles be heard, however. When he regained his composure, he gave the older man a thumbs up through bloody surgical gloves. "Here here, Colonel!"

"I'd love to stick that retractor in her myself." Kellye was assisting Charles for the time being, "You know…she's worse than Major Houlihan _ever_ was. Even before she was over Frank!" She was keeping her voice down, but the short, Hawaiian girl was…almost hissing, being so caught up in her raving.

Charles laughed under his mask, "Yes, I must say that I'm pretty glad I was never here when that overgrown ferret was around."

"Lucky you." Kellye chuckled, grabbing another instrument and handing it to the doctor.

Before the clamp was even in the man's hand, the same high pitched voice screeched behind her, "Let's keep it professional in here, shall we Nurse."

If looks could kill, the look that Kellye flashed over to Charles would have done just that. It wasn't directed towards him, it just told him how much she despised the new head nurse. She'd give anything to have Margaret back…and so would everyone else. Major Emma Casey was just too gung ho to fit in at the 4077th, and because of that, she was getting on everyone's nerves. Well, she was never _off_ their nerves really. At first she was okay, and seemed much better than Starks, but now it was a toss up for who was worse.

"Casey, this is your last warning. If you make any of those comments to anyone, one more time, I'll put you on KP duty for the rest of the war, no matter _what_ your rank is." Colonel Potter was getting _his_ feathers rather ruffled by the latest replacement for head nurse as well. The slightly emaciated woman mumbled something under her breath, turned around on her heal, and went to the opposite side of the room.

Hawkeye shook his head, a small smile spreading across his lips for the first time in about two weeks. Looking over to the assisting nurse, he asked for a clamp and went back to work.

About twenty minutes of quiet chatter and surgery later, Radar ran into the O.R., a mask over his face. He had finally learned after having to be reminded about a hundred times. "Hey, everyone, guess what!" the chatter died down and the doctors and nurses looked toward the door where the young corporal had just appeared.

The small grin on the chief surgeon's face must have doubled in size, almost knowing what Radar was going to say before he said it. He decided to have a little fun with it though, his first real attempt at a joke since that night in the officer's club, "You found a doghouse big enough for Nurse Casey?"

The nurse in subject hissed at the chief surgeon, obviously not amused.

Laughing, Radar broke the news, "No, nothing like that. I just thought I'd let you know that the phones are back and there's mail!" The hospital staff all expressed their delight and couldn't wait for the last patient to go through so they could enjoy that mail. And Hawkeye couldn'twait to get to the phone. He had been waiting for close to two weeks to find out if his feelings had been right or not, and was desperate to find out the truth.

"Who should I call first Colonel? Crabapple Cove or New York City."

The older man raised his head slowly to look at the younger surgeon, his honorary son-in-law. There was a sort of confused look in his eyes. He knew that Hawkeye was having trouble during the last couple weeks, and knew what most of that was about, but he didn't put much thought into it, "Well it's been two weeks, I'm sure Margaret and your dad will be home by now."

"Maybe…" The almost perpetually tired man took a deep breath and sighed, his shoulders falling a little, "I hope you're right."

"Oh…Sir?" Radar walked over the camp's CO.

"Yeah?"

"Well, there's a big package in your office. I opened it though since it said 'Resident 4077th MASH' but it's more for everyone, not just one person."

"That's great! What is it?"

The young corporal seemed to fidget nervously, "What I saw had Pierre Hotel written on it, like…the envelopes and stuff. There's one in there for everyone who had family at the party!"

"Really?!" Hawkeye asked excitedly. "Well bring 'em in, read 'em to us!"

"Well there was a letter on the top of all of the packing stuff, it said that we need to watch the movie reel first…"

"Then set the screen and the projector up in my office and we'll read 'em after we watch the movie, whatever it is." Colonel Potter didn't think it was that hard to figure out, but then again, it was Radar who was trying to get things situated.

Radar started fidgeting again, "Do you think we could talk for a minute, there's something else…"

Hawkeye's eyes grew wide, "What the hell are you talking about Radar? What happened?" His nerves were getting the best of him.

"Nothing bad, Sir." He shook his head toward the man who had just sort of snapped at him, not really letting his tone effect him. Looking over at the Colonel, he asked again, "Sir?"

"Yeah, I think I can. Mind taking over Pierce?"

"I can do that." Hawkeye's tone seemed a little hopeless and depressed.

The CO and company clerk walked into the main office where a rather large box sat on Potter's desk. "What is it son?" he asked, taking off his mask so it just hung around his neck. Normally, being dragged out of O.R. would have made him mad, but this seemed to be different. Radar seemed pretty worried…

"Look in the box." Radar pointed his clipboard in the general direction of the desk.

Colonel Potter walked slowly over to his cheep, olive drab desk, taking his soiled gloves off as he walked and throwing them into the trashcan on his way. He stood next to his green metal desk chair and opened the cardboard box. "Well I'll be a monkey's uncle…" a small smile spread across the doctor's face as he dug into the shredded brown paper.

"That's where I stopped, Colonel, when I saw those." The nervous young man nodded towards the two banners that his boss took out of the box, spilling the paper shavings everywhere.

A perplexed look was draped over the honorary grandfather's face, "I think Pierce was right…" He shook his head, "Although, if he was, I don't see why they'd send both a boy _and_ a girl banner. They'd surely know if it was a boy or a girl."

"Well yeah, I mean isn't it kinda easy to tell with babies?"

The Colonel chuckled, "Yeah, it's pretty easy to tell." Looking at the box's contents one more time, he shrugged, "I bet they just sent this stuff so we could celebrate when it _does_ happen." Reaching into the box again, he pulled out the stack of letters, all in Pierre Hotel envelopes. Then two canisters, one containing some sort of movie film, and the other containing the audio that went with it, came out, along with the rest of the paper shavings. "Where'd that open letter go, Radar?"

"Right here sir." The young man handed him the clipboard, noticing that the short Colonel was looking a little nervous himself.

Adjusting his glasses, he read the letter, starting to read fast and then slowing a bit, the further down the page he got. "Well I don't believe it…"

"I didn't read down that far…What is it?"

"Go see how many more wounded we got left. If there's more than five, come get me." Colonel Potter kept reading as he gave his orders to the company clerk. When Radar came back in, he reported that there were no more wounded left in triage, so the surrogate grandfather told him his plan. Well, it was more Peg and Margaret's plan, but he just told his young colleague what to do.

About an hour later, everything was set up for the big unveiling. The last patient had gone through O.R. for the time being and everyone was slowly trudging out of the scrub room. Hawkeye threw his scrubs into the hamper and leaned up against the wall by his hook. Having already talked to the CO, BJ knew what he needed to do, "Come on Hawk, why don't we go to the office?"

"Yeah, I'm sure Corporal O'Reilly will have something for you from mail call." Charles was also in on the little surprise since Potter asked him about borrowing his tape recorder in order for everyone to hear the audio for the movie as well. Neither of the Swamp Rats knew _entirely_ what was going on, but they knew how much their fellow 'Rat' had worried in the past couple of weeks, so therefore they wanted to get him to the office so he could watch the movie, whatever it was, and read his wife's letter. Plus, they were pretty excited to get _their_ mail as well.

"Alright," Hawkeye let his best friend guide him toward the door, his hand on the chief surgeon's shoulder, "I gotta call the states first though."

"Uh-" BJ stalled, figuring out a way to distract the rather depressed man.

Charles picked up on what his fellow tent mate was thinking, "Well, why don't we go to Potter's office to see what that movie is first. Maybe it'll give you some sort of clue as to where to call."

"What do you mean Charles?"

"What I mean is, there were specific instructions to watch the movie first. I'm not saying that anything could have happened, I'm just saying, maybe you should just do as we tell you for once," Doctor Winchester put a hand on his colleague's other shoulder and glanced at BJ with a sort of questioning tone.

The mustached, big-footed surgeon just mouthed the words, 'thank you' behind his friend's head toward his coworker and together they walked with Hawkeye plodding between them, all the way to the office.

Klinger, Radar, Father Mulcahy, and Colonel Potter were already in the office when the trio got to the door. When BJ pushed it open, they were all three very surprised about what hung on the edge of the file cabinets behind their CO's desk. No matter how surprised BJ and Charles were, they couldn't have reached the amount that the (possibly) new father felt, even combined. His eyes grew wide and he began to feel a little light headed when he saw the two banners, the pink 'It's a Girl' one with the blue 'It's a Boy' sign right by it. Both of the other young doctors put a secure hand on the man's back again, just in case he passed out in shock.

Noticing the abnormal size of his honorary son-in-law's eyes, Colonel Potter nodded gently, "Just come on in and sit down you three, and we'll see what this is all about."

Not being able to say much, Hawkeye just nodded his agreement as well and took the closest, empty chair beside Father Mulcahy. BJ took a seat on the desk by Potter and Charles leaned on the empty table by another file cabinet on the wall with the window. The white haired man pointed toward Klinger when everyone was situated and he took that as his sign to turn on the projector and the tape recorder, before turning out the light.

"Colonel, what's going on?" Hawkeye looked back at his honorary father-in-law, concern making his voice shaky.

"Just watch the movie, son," He ordered lightly.

Peg's cheery voice filled the room over the whirring of Charles' tape recorder and the camp's projector. On the white screen, almost everyone from the party was waiving from where they were dancing on the dance floor. _"Hello everyone! We all had a wonderful time at the party and, thanks to all of the help from the Pierre Hotel, we were able to put this little film together for you. We figured that, this way, it could almost be like you were here."_

Hawkeye's eyes scanned diligently over the scene in search of his wife and father, not finding them. He became even more worried when he searched the small screen over and over. 'Why wouldn't they be there?' His heart was pounding as he thought about the banners. 'Oh God…' Even though he had been having those feelings for the past two weeks, he still never would have really expected his wife to actually have gone into labor at the party. His shoulders felt heavy with worry. The next words from the audio recording brought him back to Earth, and he continued to watch, hoping for some clue as to why neither Margaret nor Daniel were anywhere to be seen.

"_It really was quite the night and we all got along very well. We felt like we had known each other for years. We laughed together, cried together, clung to each other, and danced together…" _On the screen, more of the party was shown. Winchester's parents were dancing and laughing with Radar's mom and Uncle Ed, causing the viewers to all get a chuckled, except for Charles who thought it was just horrible and Hawkeye who couldn't laugh at the moment, even if he tried. Next, Peg and Cathy showed up on the film, laughing and smiling brightly, both dressed in their beautiful ball gowns. BJ couldn't help but notice, however, that his wife seemed a little preoccupied. Radiant none-the-less, but she looked like she was really thinking about something else while she laughed. He could see it in her eyes. She looked…worried.

Everyone in the room had also noticed the absence of their former head nurse and the chief surgeon's father in the film so far. Colonel Potter knew why, and really so did Radar, but the others weren't quite sure. The banners on the file cabinet sort of added to the suspense since they didn't know if they were actually relevant yet or not. BJ sat sort of behind his best friend and could see his shoulders droop in suspense. Truth be told, the honorary uncle's stomach was lurching about in anxiousness as well, but he listened intently to his wife's voice. Her sweet sound made him homesick, but comforted him all the same.

"_We all love you so guys so much and the interview with Clete Roberts meant the world to us. There wasn't a dry eye in the audience when the lights came back on in the theatre here at the Pierre. We were all truly touched and prey that Clete is right and that the war will be over soon." _

A few seconds passed and UncleAbdul and Butch and Rashida Klinger showed up on screen next, Klinger's mom blowing kisses to the camera. _"Mrs. Klinger told me to tell Max that she knew all along that he was in Korea. She never mentioned it though because she didn't want _him_ to worry about_ her_. But she also told me to tell him that those pictures he sends her are very funny and he can keep going with those." _

A small smile spread across Klinger's face, "I never could fool that woman." A few chuckles were heard throughout the room while Father Mulcahy gave his buddy a pat on the shoulder.

The O'Reilys and the Winchesters returned on the screen, waving. Peg's voice once again filled the room, _"Ed and Edna really hit it off with Bethany and Charles and ended up leading everyone in the Charleston. In fact, the Winchesters have invited Radar and his family to their house in Cape Cod the first summer that he's back from Korea." _Again, laughter errupted from most everyone in the room, except for the pompous surgeon and the extremely anxious man that was almost nauseous-with-worry. Cathy Mulcahy came back on the screen shortly after the O'Reilys and Winchesters started dancing again. She smiled widely and gave a shy wave, mainly to her brother. _"Cathy really had the joint jumping with her sax and is a truly amazing person who we all enjoyed being around very much." _Father Mulcahy smiled proudly.

Next to appear in the film was Mildred Potter, doing the usual, smiling and waving. She looked into the camera and her eyes were soft and gentle when she mouthed the words, 'I love you Sherm.' The man who the comment was made to pulled his handkerchief out and dabbed at his eyes and blew his nose, his emotions running rampant. _"Mrs. Potter may have danced the night away with Daniel," _Peg could be heard chuckling when she said it, _"but she never really stopped talking about her Sherman or how excited he is about his honorary grandchild." _

The Colonel bent down and spoke quietly into Hawkeye's ear, "If your dad is anything like what you used to be, we're gonna have to have a long talk." A tiny smile took shape on the, still, unknowing father's face. It didn't last long, however considering that he was still worried sick about why Margaret hadn't been mentioned yet. He thought his heart would fly out of his chest when he heard Peg's next words.

"_Now Hawkeye, you're probably wondering why Margaret or your dad haven't been in this film yet…right? Well, we have a little surprise for you." _The black and white picture on the screen changed to an outdoor scene. It was sunny and bright, even in the grey tones. There were tears in Hawkeye's eyes as he realized what the large, white-ish, building was in the picture, judging by the big red (well…dark grey) cross on the side of the building and the medusas right next to it, he figured it had to be a hospital. He wiped the tears away quick, not really caring if anyone saw, but wanted to be able to see the screen clearly and not through a fog.

The scene changed once more and a door with a number two on it was shone opening. Whoever the cameraman was, walked into the room to show the beautiful blonde that Hawkeye was so worried about, sitting up in bed with a big smile on her face, her hair falling around her shoulders in those beautiful curls. Almost everyone's jaw dropped when they saw what was in the woman's arms. Cuddled up to Margaret's chest was a tiny baby. The man that had just found out he was, obviously, a father, smiled proudly, yet sadly. Tears were running down his cheeks as he switched from looking into his wife's eyes and at the little baby in her arms…_his_ baby.

Margaret's sweet voice quietly filled the CO's office, _"Congratulations Daddy." _Her tone was very cheery and made her husband's heart beat faster. _"I thought you would like to know that you are now the proud father of a very beautiful baby girl." _On the screen, she raised the precious little bundle and kissed the small forehead ever so gently. _"She was about 3 pounds and five ounces when she was born, but she's coming along perfectly and gaining the weight she needs. I picked a name for her that I knew you wouldn't object to. Alicia Danielle Piece, after your mother and father. Daniel's told me several times how much she looks like your mother, and she looks just like you too."_

It was becoming increasingly harder for the chief surgeon to keep the tears out of his eyes, if not impossible. He was smiling widely but tears were still running down his cheeks. He felt a strange combination of the happiest joy and the saddest sorrow. He was a father…_he_ was a father and this was the happiest day of his life, but he couldn't be there with his wife and daughter and it hurt him more than words could describe.

A much deeper voice, Daniel's, filled the room, a light chuckle mixed with the words, _"Of course, where there's a new Pierce, there's a new set of surprises." _The owner of the voice came into view of the camera and took a seat on the bed next to his daughter-in-law. Margaret smiled ecstatically, first at the old, carbon copy of Hawkeye and then at what he was holding in _his_ arms.

The room's oxygen supply momentarily took a dive as everyone gasped, happily surprised. Hawkeye's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head as he gaped at the screen, not believing what he saw since he didn't really believe his ears _all_ those weekends ago in Seoul. He felt very light headed again, blinking rapidly and trying to make his vision clear up. _"Don't worry Ben, I wasn't leaving anything out in my letters to you," _Margaret's voice came back on, _"I didn't know we were having twins until your son decided that he wanted to come out and be a part of the world. I thought I was done and could rest, cuddling with our new baby girl, but being just like his father already, he had different ideas. Although it felt like a long time to me, it wasn't long before our son, Michael Benjamin Pierce was reunited with his sister. He was only 3 pounds and 1 ounce when he was born, but has already tied with his sister and is doing great." _

The father of the two beautiful babies shook his head, still not fully grasping what he was seeing and hearing. Now the feelings that he had been having before, seeing his tiny daughter in the film, seemed to double for his son…his _son._ He watched in amazement as his wife gently shifted the little girl to her left arm and his father carefully put the little boy he was holding in her right arm. Margaret leaned down and kissed his tiny forehead like she had with the baby girl. Looking back into the camera, she smiled lovingly, knowing her husband would be looking the same way toward the screen.

"_I'm so sorry we couldn't tell you before that you were officially a daddy, but we were trying every day." _Her voice seemed to shake a little with emotion, _"Your father tried to get in touch with you right after Michael was born, but since Eisenhower was visiting Korea, he couldn't get through to you at all. But, that's when I got the idea for this little bit of the film that Peg was making already… She came by to visit when everyone else did, about four days after the twins were born. _

"_Everyone would have come sooner, but Doctor Ortell didn't think that they should so soon. But, when they did, Peg brought the camera that the hotel had rented to her and told me what her idea was and so I told her _my_ idea and this is what we came up with. We did the audio a few days later since she decided to stay longer in New York than she had planned. When she went to get it all developed, she told the man everything and he made sure to get it all done in about a day! We sent it first class so it would get there soon and just hoped that Eisenhower wouldn't stay in Korea for too long. I know this isn't the same as actually _being_ here, but Honey…please be happy. I'm thrilled about our kids and happier than I have ever been in my life. I can't imagine how happy I would be if you were here with us. I know you're happy too, I really do…but I know how sad you must be too. Just, think positively here. The war will only last for a while longer. And besides, the longer you're over there, the less diapers you have to change once we get to go home. Because, trust me…I'd make you do at least half of them!" _Margaret laughed on the audio and so did everyone else in the room, especially Hawkeye.

He wiped his eyes once more, still looking at the picture on the screen. It was still Margaret holding their two beautiful children, but the picture never got old. The new father's heart ached more and more though, seeing his family so far away.

BJ put a hand on his best friend's shoulder, "Congratulations Hawk."

The new father nodded, resting his face in his hands. "Thanks," his voice was husky. The others in the room also gave their friend a warm congratulations before the film went on.

"_So that was our very eventful 4077__th__ Family Reunion party," _Peg's voice returned to fill the room, _"I personally made many new, great friends, got to meet my honorary niece and nephew, and was finally able to share all of my feelings about you, BJ, being over there in Korea to people that would actually understand what I'm going through. I can't tell you how much that helped me…and everyone else here. Just remember you guys, we love you more than words can describe and can't wait to see you again." _

On the screen, Peg sat down gently on the side of the bed by Margaret and smiled brightly into the camera, waving while her blonde friend could only smile, her hands full. Then Daniel got in the picture too and did the same as Peg. It only lasted about thirty seconds before the film ended and the room was draped in blackness and the whirring of the projector was seized by Klinger. Winchester then went over and turned off his tape recorder after Radar flipped on the lights.

There wasn't a dry eye in the room and Hawkeye was trying his best to keep from blubbering. The overload of emotions he was feeling was making it harder and harder, however. The lump in his throat grew larger when he looked at the two banners on the file cabinets again. When he had first walked into the room, he had no idea that _both_ were relevant. Never in a million years would he have believed that he was _right_ when he said he had heard the two heartbeats.

He was lost in thought when Colonel Potter put a hand on his shoulder. The surgeon turned around and gave a small, sad smile, "Suppose I could call my wife yet?"

The CO nodded, "Of course. Tell her that I'm very proud of her and my honorary grandkids too."

The very emotional, overwhelmed man nodded slightly, "Will do Colonel." Hawkeye started toward the door toward Radar's office but was stopped by Charles.

"Want your letter, Pierce? Judging by the handwriting, it's from Margaret." The balding man stepped toward him and handed the Pierre Hotel envelope over to his friend. A thoughtful look spread over the normally pampas man's face, "Congratulations…Hawkeye."

"Thanks Chuck." He was truly touched by Charles' use of his nickname and favored him with a warm smile. Turning around, he pushed through the doors and took a seat at the desk, taking the phone out of the bad and turning the crank.

"HQ Seoul, this is Sergeant Pryor."

"Is this…Sparky?"

"Yeah, that's me." The man's voice was muffled, obviously eating something again.

"Well, this is Captain Hawkeye Pierce here at the 4077th. Can you do me a huge favor?" Butterflies started flying with a vengeance in Hawkeye's stomach again, "I was wondering if you could get me through to New York City. I'd really like to talk to my wife…it's very important."

Sensing that it really was important, Sparky decided to skip the bartering and went straight to work, "Yeah, I can do that. This'll take awhile though."

"Thanks." His heart was beating faster and faster with excitement. While the phone was silent, he decided to open his letter. His hands shaking, he broke the seal and pulled out the contents. Happy, yet sad tears fogged his vision once more as he picked up the four snapshots that fell out of the thick folded letter. Two were of the babies, soon after they were born and still in the incubators. Even though they were in the clear 'boxes', the tiny babies were still very visible and they were very good pictures, even if they were kind of sad for the new dad to see. Being the doctor he was, he knew that since they were so early, it was really pretty inevitable that they needed time in them, but seeing the IVs in their little feet made his heart ache. The other two were much happier. One was Margaret holding their two babies in her arms, a huge smile on her face, and one was of Daniel holding his grandkids.

Hawkeye picked up the pictures and, after admiring them, looked at the back for any writing. One read _Alicia Danielle Pierce - 3 lbs 5 oz - May 28, 1953. _and the other read _Michael Benjamin Pierce - 3 lbs. 1 oz - May 28, 1953. _The one with Margaret and the babies read _Mommy and Daddy's Little Angels - June 1, 1953_. The last one, the one with Daniel holding his grandkids, said _Future Spoiling Grandpa. June 1, 1953 _on the back.

He still just couldn't believe it. Benjamin Franklin 'Hawkeye' Pierce was a father…and a father of _twins_ no less. It just seemed so surreal to him. There was something about all that was going on though that made it so he didn't exactly _feel_ like a father. He did, but he didn't. BJ had said before in one of their many conversations about being a parent like, "A woman becomes a mother the moment she finds out she's pregnant, but a man really only becomes a father the first time he holds his child." At first he didn't believe his best friend. When he was able to hear the heartbeats he thought he felt like a dad. But, did he really?

"If I could just be there…" Hawkeye hit the desk in reasonable anger. The hand that wasn't holding onto the phone grabbed the picture of Margaret holding the babies. Seeing those three, beautiful faces put a lump back in his throat. Even though he was still angrier than words could describe about not being able to be there with those three, his rage left him almost immediately when he looked at the picture. There was just something about it…

"Captain Pierce?" Sparky's voice returned on the line and brought Hawkeye back from his thoughts.

"Yeah?" He sat up a little straighter in the chair, more attentive.

"I've got an operator in New York on the line. Where do you want the call connected to?"

The raven haired man stammered, "Uh…I'm not sure…hold on." He had no idea _where_ in the Big Apple his family was, which hospital anyway. Opening the letter, he scanned his wife's handwriting for any signs of a hospital name. In the film, the only thing he saw on the building was a big red cross and a medusas, but no name. Finally, he found it, "Oh uh…it's Bellevue Hospital in New York City. Maternity ward. And I want to talk to Margaret Pierce."

"Alrighty, hold on a sec."

It didn't take much longer for the call to go through. In about five minutes, a female voice sounded down the wire. "Hello?"

"Margaret?!" Hawkeye couldn't be sure it was her, but he'd take his chances.

"No, I'm sorry, this is Rachel Albright, her nurse. Mrs. Pierce is asleep now, Sir. It's 3:30 in the morning here. Should I go wake her?"

The young surgeon's heart sunk. "No, no let her sleep. It's alright. I'll call later."

"Alright, well…can I ask who's calling, so I can tell her when she wakes up?"

"It's her husband. Tell her I'll call around noon…if we don't get wounded coming in." At the young lady's confused 'Huh?', he chuckled, "She'll know what I mean. I'm in Korea."

"Oh, okay. She _did_ say something about that. I'll tell her when she wakes up."

"Thanks." He was about to hang up when he thought to ask, "Can you tell me how my kids are doing? All the information I have available is about a week or so out of date."

The nurse's tone was cheery, a very good sign, "Oh they're doing great. Much better than you would think, being born so early. But, they're gaining the weight they need and progressing just perfectly. They're very healthy, very lucky."

Hawkeye couldn't help the smile that spread on his lips, "Thank you, that's exactly what I needed to hear."

"Well, anytime. I'll tell Mrs. Pierce that you'll call her later when she wakes up."

"Thanks, that'd be great. Buh-bye." When the line went dead, he put the phone back in its bag and leaned back in the chair, put his feet on the desk, and looked at the pictures of his family, a huge grin on his face. He'd get to reading the letter, but now he just wanted to get those picture permanently embedded into his mind…and his heart.

**Oh…my…God. I haven't updated since January 18****th****?! Sorry about that. I've been EXTREMELY busy and have had at least four break-downs that have been school related, have been sick, swamped with homework (pun intended), and have just had a major case of writer's block. But, I'm so sorry it took so long to write this! I feel horrible about making you guys wait! I hope you don't hate me for it! :-S But, thanks for being patient. **

**I really hope you liked this chapter, especially since you've been waiting for so long. I'm not too sure of it, myself… I hope everything seems plausible and I'm not entirely sure if the Bellevue Hospital would have been there when this story happened or not, but it was the only one in New York City I could find on the internet! **

**But tell me what you thought and I really hope you liked it. Anything you recognize isn't mine either and thanks so much to Lissy for all of her help! Again, I apologize for making you wait so long! Thanks to all of my loyal reviewers/readers though! And as for the color of little Michael's hair color…I guess you'll just have to wait! ;-) Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long to write…**


	25. Brand New Daddy

_Author's Note: Here you go, chapter 25! Enjoy and thanks again for all of your reviews. And thanks so much for understanding. That means a lot._

**Chapter 25**

**MASH 4077****th**** - June 10, 1953 - 5:30 P.M.**

"Have you read Margaret's letter yet?" BJ asked, laying in his cot reading the letter that Peg had sent him in the package.

Hawkeye was sitting in the chair next to the still, staring at the snapshot of his beautiful family yet again. _His_ family…he didn't think he'd ever really get used to that phrase. If the pictures were sadly lost or something happened to them now, he'd still have the images permanently etched into both his mind and his heart, but he'd never let those four pictures out of his sight or at least away from his person for longer than what it would take to have a quick shower. When he wasn't looking at them, he'd stick them in his breast pocket and make sure it was buttoned closed. Of course, the snapshots had only been in his pocket for about thirty seconds as he made his way to the Swamp from Potter's office.

Looking over toward his friend, the new family man replied, "No, not yet…I can't tear my eyes away from these little faces." His voice full of emotion, he handed the pictures off to BJ. "Look at 'em Beej, they're incredible. Have you ever seen two, more beautiful babies?"

Chuckling, BJ took the pictures and looked at his best friend's kids. "Don't tell Peg I said this, but no…I can't say that I have." Of course to him, _Erin_ was the most beautiful baby he'd ever seen, but having been through the first-time-father's 'showing everyone your baby pictures until they get so annoyed they run away from you' routine, he knew what Hawkeye wanted to hear. Plus it wasn't too hard to say. Alicia and Michael Pierce really _were_ adorable in the pictures.

While BJ was looking at his pictures, Hawkeye reached into his other pocket and took out the letter. Unfolding the thick bunch of paper, he 'dove right in' to his wife's handwriting.

_Dear Daddy,_

_You were right…I still don't believe it, but you were right. All those weekends ago in Seoul, when you said you heard the two heartbeats, I just thought you were teasing or just plain crazy, but I can't believe you were right! I'm sorry if that sounds so redundant, but I'm so excited about having, not one, but TWO beautiful babies._

Hawkeye chuckled at his wife's obvious excitement. He'd be the same way if only he could be there… He was still excited about being a dad and couldn't wait to meet his kids, but that was just it, he'd have to 'wait'. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to imagine what it would be like to hold the little boy and girl for the first time. A small smile spread across his face. Opening his eyes again, he focused back on the letter, anxious to see what else his wife had to say.

_They are absolutely incredible, Ben. Every time I see those two sweet little faces, I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. The only thing that could make me happier would be if you could be here. Of course I know that you want nothing more than that too…_

"Took the words right out of my mouth…"

"What's that?" BJ asked, looking over at his friend.

Hawkeye read what Margaret had written to him. "I couldn't have put it better myself. I hate to think that she can't be perfectly happy right now…I mean she just had two of the most beautiful babies and because I can't be there with her, she has to be worried about me at the same time as being worried about Alicia and Michael…It's not fair for her, she needs to be _completely_ happy right now." He scratched his head, "Did you get that?"

His friend nodded, "Yeah, I got that. It's kind of the same for me and Peg. There's so many things that she should be enjoying with Erin but because I'm over here in this stupid war, she has to work and leave Erin with my mother every day…" BJ was trying to control his temper, but couldn't really hide his anger. He knew _exactly_ what his friend meant, even if he didn't know exactly how he felt. He couldn't imagine not meeting his little girl right after she was born, and couldn't imagine how his friend was going to manage not meeting both of his babies for awhile.

Looking back at the bunch of paper once more, Hawkeye went back to reading.

_I was so scared when it finally dawned on me that I was in labor. I had been having dull back pains since the day we headed down here, but at the party they were getting pretty bad. Finally, I had to go sit down while your father and Mildred were dancing and when he and Peg followed me over, I told them how my back was hurting every once in a while and how it would just go away in a few minutes. As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I started balling when realization set in. Daniel just let me hold his hand until the pain went away and then whisked me off to the hospital._

_We got a cab to take us to the Bellevue Hospital, the closest one to the Pierre Hotel and that ride is pretty much a blur to me. I was curling up as best I could, trying to get my back to stop hurting so much. Just in that bit of time though, the pain wrapped around to the front and I just felt horrible. Daniel was doing his best to comfort me though and I hope I didn't crush his hand too much…_

Yet another sigh came from the reader of what could be the most important letter in his and his wife's marriage. Hawkeye couldn't help but feel a huge pang of jealousy for his father since he was able to be with Margaret when she was in so much pain. He would have been there in a second…if only he _could_ have. 'Stupid goddamned war…police action, whatever the hell you wanna call it…' he thought, grabbing a martini and taking a swig.

_When we finally made it to Bellevue after all of the stop and go traffic, they rushed me up to the maternity ward. I remember writhing in the bed, just hurting like hell while Doctor Ortell was asking me about wanting any meds to slow down the progression. When the latest wave of pain wore down and my body finally relaxed a little, I agreed to it, hoping that the baby would wait awhile longer. After about an hour, the contractions stopped and I was able to get some rest. Then your dad came in and I just broke down crying._

_I just felt like I had failed at being a mother already and I just couldn't keep it bottled up anymore. I started crying and couldn't stop. It was a combination of stress and sorrow. I was so worried about having the baby so early and kept thinking about something that happened in my past (more on that later). Then I was just so upset that you couldn't be there with me. So, in other words, a bunch of different emotions came out at once for a woman that was already very hormonal. Your father was very supportive though. I was just so glad that I wouldn't have to go through all of what was _about_ to happen alone._

His heart tightened thinking that Margaret felt like she had failed as a mother because she had gone into premature labor. Of course, reading that…yet again, his _father_ was there to comfort her made his heart squeeze a little more. He was grateful that Daniel made it so his wife didn't have to go through all of the pain by herself, but seeing as how _he_ was there instead of the father of the baby, or _babies_…just made it all that more difficult and brought back that feeling of reluctant jealousy.

_He listened to everything I said and even managed to make me laugh a couple times. He said that he should have known that the baby would come early, just by knowing how impatient its parents are! Of course, that was before we knew there were TWO impatient Pierces ready to join the world. After awhile, your dad fell asleep on the couch in my room at the hospital and the medications that I was given were making me drowsy and I fell asleep…but not for long._

Shaking his head, Hawkeye laughed at what his dad had said about _knowing_ that the baby would be early. When he thought about it though, he could have seen it coming too.

_As you know, being the great doctor you are, the tocolytic was only expected to work for up to three days. I was hoping that the baby would just decide to wait for awhile longer after those three days, but like your dad said, it was just too impatient. I woke up screaming, I was in so much pain. The meds I was on were never experimented with pain killers though, and neither Doctor Ortell, nor I wanted to risk it so I just held Daniel's hand, screamed, cried, and panted through the pain. I was so worn out by the time I set eyes on our beautiful daughter, but it was love at first sight. I was overwhelmed when the doctor laid her on my chest. She was squirming around a little and I could feel her little heartbeat, but she wasn't crying. _I_ was crying my eyes out with joy and also a little loneliness with you not being there to witness what had just happened, but when she finally cried, I just giggled and was so happy. I kissed her sticky head and started crying yet again…_

It was becoming way too difficult to read for the surgeon. His eyes were pooling over with tears, reading about how his little girl had come into the world and about his wife's emotions, feelings, and actions when it happened. He couldn't help but wonder how he would have felt if he were there to see his child being born himself. After wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve, Hawkeye rested his head in his hand. "Were you in the delivery room with Peg when Erin was born?"

"I was. I had to pull a LOT of strings, but I was…Peg broke two bones in my hand, too!" BJ chuckled, trying to fight back his emotions that came with thinking of that day…and then the homesickness that came with it as well.

Laughing a little at his friend's remark, the homesick doctor asked what he really wanted to know. "What was it like?"

The sandy-haired man sighed, something that was becoming a normal noise in the Swamp nowadays. "Wonderful. I mean, there was a lot of screaming and even _I_ was in a lot of pain what with my had getting crushed by a woman that you would really not think of being that strong… But it was really amazing." BJ's eyes were becoming moist as he spoke, "I remember kissing Peg's sweaty forehead when she was on the verge of exhaustion and telling her it would all be okay. And then the next minute there's this little baby crying and we both have huge grins on our faces, waiting for the doctor to say if it's a boy or a girl…"

Hawkeye smiled, "That does sound nice…"

"It was," BJ nodded. "They don't call it a miracle for nothing."

There was awkward silence for a moment before the rather emotional new father turned his attention back to the letter.

_I was exhausted and overjoyed and just wanted to rest. After Randy took our little girl to be cleaned and examined, I laid back and tried to relax. It was just getting harder and harder though and I was feeling a little WORSE than I had before I could start pushing only a little while before. Daniel was trying to figure out what was going on and I just couldn't calm down. He thought maybe it was just the placenta but my response wasn't exactly 'ladylike'. I told him it was like what I had just gone through, but I sort of added an extra word in there…I was in a LOT of pain! Then I started thinking about our last time in Seoul together. I told your dad and Ben, you should have seen the look on his face! It was priceless! Of course, I was still in agony and couldn't help but scream again. That's when Doctor Ortell came back over and had Nurse Josten take our daughter to get a better exam._

_Daniel told Randy what I thought was going on and he checked. When he said I was right, I had about a hundred different thoughts go through my head at once. I was so happy, yet so worried because I had no idea how I'd get through it…AGAIN! I was pushing for what seemed like a lot longer before there was any sign of the second baby. Finally, when I felt something slip through, I was shocked because it didn't feel as big as our little girl's head. I knew it must have been a breach, but at that moment I was a little out of my senses. The rest was MUCH harder than it had been before, but in a 'short' time, our son was born._

_When the doctor put him on my chest, I could just barely feel his heartbeat and was so afraid that he would be a still born. He started squirming a little, and I was thrilled, but he still wasn't crying. I was just so scared that it wouldn't go two for two, and something would go wrong with our little boy. I was just holding him and thinking, 'cry honey, you can do it'. Daniel was rubbing his back like he had with our daughter to get her to cry. Finally, when that wasn't working, Randy had him hurry and cut the cord. After what seemed like forever, he finally let out a cry. Right next to his sister's, I think that was the sweetest sound I've ever heard._

His stomach tightened again when he read that Margaret was so worried, thinking that their son might have been a still born. He hated the thought of not being there with her to comfort her in all that was going on. Again, he was grateful that his dad could be there for her, but he knew it wasn't the same thing for Margaret. The support she _really_ needed couldn't be there. She had been crying because she was so happy, but also because she was so heartbroken that her husband couldn't see all that was going on.

_Shortly after, our little boy was taken to be cleaned and examined. I was more exhausted than I've ever been, but I stayed awake long enough to feed our little girl. I was so amazed when she just knew exactly what to do. It was amazing… I wish you could have seen it. Holding that little life, and knowing there was another one close by that WE were responsible for creating, was just indescribable. It just gave me the most amazing feeling. (Are you counting how many times I've said 'amazing' yet?) But really, that's what it was._

Chuckling at his wife's comment about 'counting the amazing's', he went back to look at the pages and noticed all of the places where 'amazing' was written. He couldn't blame her though, if he would have been there and was writing a letter to BJ about it, there would probably be just as many, if not _more_ 'amazing's'.

_After being assured that both of our babies were going to be okay, my exhaustion just took over and I was out for quite some time. When I woke up, I was extremely sore, but I was able to get to the nursery - with the help of a wheel chair - and got to see our two beautiful babies again. They looked so fragile in the incubators and it made my heart leap up into my throat. I knew they would help them, but seeing them in those glass boxes made them look so helpless… It was like I could feel my heart break. I kept a smile on my face for them though. I was able to put my hands through the side of the boxes so I could touch them, and I talked to both of them for awhile and while I did, I told them what I would name them._

_I really hope you like the names I picked for them. When your dad told me how much our daughter looks like your mother, I asked him what her name was and I just fell in love with what he said. Then I thought her middle name should come from her grandfather. Also, Alicia Danielle just seems to have a good sound to it, doesn't it? I've started calling her Allie and she always responds to it. Her eyes just get bigger and brighter and then I kiss her nose and she makes the cutest gurgling sound. She's just adorable with her big blue eyes, her daddy's nose, and her mommy's chin. The little fuzz on the top of her head is pitch black, just like yours. When she was born, she weighed three pounds, five ounces. She was so tiny, but now she almost weighs four pounds and two ounces!_

"Margaret says Alicia has my nose…poor thing."

BJ just replied with a laugh, giving his best friend a teasing look, "That poor girl."

_When I thought of our son, one name kept coming to my mind. I know I've never told you, but when I was six years old, my mom had a baby boy…the son my father always wanted. But that son of his was born three months early and died when he was only a few hours old. I was so thankful that our son was healthy, but I couldn't stop thinking about that little boy that would have been my baby brother. When I got older, I found out that his name would have been Michael, so I named our son after who would have been his uncle… I thought the name suited him somehow._

It somehow all made sense… He knew that Margaret had joined the Army to win her father's approval, and 'Howitzer' Al Houlihan wanted a son more than anything. Margaret was trying to take on that role of a son to make her father happy. Hawkeye wasn't a psychiatrist or anything, but he could see that maybe his wife had done all of the things that she didn't really _want _to do, like joining the Army, because of that little brother that didn't make it. Maybe she didn't like seeing her father upset about losing his son, but hated how he couldn't see past that and see how wonderful his daughters were. Perhaps the little boy that didn't make it was the reason for why Margaret was hurt all the time. Her being a part of the Army all her life made her move around all the time, but when she could have just gotten out of it, she kept going, trying to get her father to see how much he should be thankful for his daughters too. Michael really _did_ seem suiting for their little boy…

_Then, Benjamin fit him perfectly too for his middle name because of his 'piercing' blue eyes that are the same as yours and his sister's. He's got the cutest red fuzz on his head too! His mothers. (I know, big surprise, I'm not exactly a natural blonde). He was only three pounds, one ounce, but has already gained four ounces and is off the I.V. they had him on. Whenever I hold him, I kiss his tiny nose and call him my little 'Mikey Surprise'._

The concentrated look on Hawkeye's face turned to one of pure mirth. "Listen to this Beej, it's about Michael. 'He's got the cutest red fuzz on his head too! His mothers…I know, big surprise, I'm not exactly a natural blonde…!" He was laughing almost uncontrollably, thinking that he had been tricked for so long. He teased her about it a lot, but he really thought that Margaret was a _natural _blonde. "Can you imagine that! My son's a little red-head!"

BJ laughed, thinking of his former colleague having red hair. "I'd pay to see Margaret as a carrot top."

"I think I would too." The laughter died down and Hawkeye went back to reading what was left of the letter. He was trying to read slow, seeing as how he wanted to saver the words on the pages, but the letter was sadly coming to an end.

_Yesterday when I was holding both of them, I just couldn't stop crying. My emotions were put on full force. Seeing the two sets of eyes looking up at me made me feel unlike I've ever felt before. I can't wait until you can hold them both and see their sweet little faces in real life. It won't be much longer, Honey. Just don't forget that we love you so much and are so looking forward to seeing you again. Well, Allie and Mikey will be able to _hear_ you again and see you for the first time. They are going to adore you so much. It was love at first sight for me…and I know they'll think the same when they see you._

_I love you so much. Be careful over there, okay? Good luck with the wounded and I think your dad's letter will have more about the party._

_Always yours,_

_Margaret_

_PS: Enjoy the film we put together for you! I hope it helps to close the distance a bit…_

The last little bit of the letter made Hawkeye feel like crying. He had tears running down his cheeks, pretty much uncontrollably. He turned away, trying not to let BJ see him blubbering like he was. It didn't work, however, and soon felt a hand squeezing his shoulder. "It'll be okay Hawk…you'll be home soon."

Hawkeye put his head in his hands, "It's just not fair Beej."

"No, it's not…I know." His hand was still on his best friend's shoulder, trying to comfort him. Being separated from his family as well, he knew how embarrassing it was to lose control of your emotions and start crying like a little kid, but he also knew how much his friend needed comforting. Hawkeye had done it for him numerous times. Now it was his time to return the favor.

**MASH 4077****th**** - June 10, 1953 - 11:00 P.M.**

There had been a few wounded earlier, but O.R. had only lasted for about four hours. Now, the tired surgeons were back in the Swamp, really too depressed and tired to do anything else but drink and lay in their cots, reading their letters from the party…which were making them more depressed and homesick. Hawkeye had grabbed Margaret's old hat that thankfully still had some of the scent of her shampoo on it and held it close. Closing his eyes, he could almost see her in front of him…smiling at him with that beautiful smile of hers and those big, icy blue eyes.

BJ was on his cot, reading Peg's letter for the eighth time. Noticing his best friend looking at the pictures again, he put the letter down, "Planning your escape, Daddy?"

The man in question sighed, "I would love to…" Swinging his legs over the edge of his bed, if it could really be called that, he sat up and put the photos back in his pocket. "I'd give anything to hold my kids. Feel they're little hands wrap around my finger…see their eyes…have 'em fall asleep on my chest while I'm trying not to fall asleep myself."

"You'll see them soon, Hawk. I promise." The mustached surgeon could see the hurting look in the new father's eyes.

Hawkeye ran his hand through his hair, "What time is it?"

"'Bout a quarter after 11."

"In New York?"

"Hell if I know…" BJ racked his brain, trying to do the math in his head, "Uh…quarter after 10 A.M. maybe?"

"Thanks." He'd thought about just calling early, Margaret would definitely be up by now, but after a few minutes of thinking with his face in his hands, he decided to just wait until it was noon there like she was expecting. She would more than likely be with the babies and he didn't want to disturb whatever kind of schedule she might be used to or trying to get the babies used to, if she had one. Knowing his wife though, she probably did.

Shaking his head, he looked at his best friend, "Can you believe that I have _two_ kids…?" His voice was distant, depicting the disbelieving, yet overjoyed feelings he had.

BJ chuckled, "Well, if somebody would have told me when I first got here that you and _Major Houlihan_ would have kids together before the war was over…or ever for that matter, I'd never have believed it. Now…it's just the _two_ part that gets me."

Laughing, Hawkeye nodded, "Oh yeah…me too." He was looking very thoughtful again, "Did I ever tell you how I heard the heartbeats in Seoul?"

"You did?" The other doctor moved on his bunk so he was face to face with his best friend, genuinely interested.

The new dad couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips, "When we were in Seoul the last time we were laying in bed and I thought I'd give it a try. At first I was just teasing Margaret about being able to hear two heartbeats, but the more I listened…" Getting up, he started pacing around the narrow path in the Swamp, "Of course I was doubting myself because she said it was just an echo." Plopping back down on the narrow cot he sighed, "How am I supposed to make it through all this, Beej? I just wanna feel like a father."

BJ understood what he was getting at and what he meant, but he just had to ask, "You don't feel like a father?"

"I do, but I don't." Hawkeye's voice became husky with emotion as he took the snapshots out of his pocket again, "I mean…I look at these pictures and I'm amazed at how these tiny babies have so many of Margaret's and my features…but I don't know _how _to describe what I'm feeling right now. I feel different, but I don't know if this is what it feels like."

Putting down his letter on the same table as the still, the 'situational psychiatrist' thought about what he should say, "Butterflies in your stomach?"

"More like vultures."

"Keep thinking about different things you're gonna do in the future with Alicia and Michael? Like playing catch, teaching them how to ride a bike, picnics at the beach, chasing off the odd teenaged boy from your daughter, giving your son advice on how to win a girl over in the cafeteria…?"

The restless doctor got up once more and poured himself and his bunkmate another drink from the 'elixir of life'. "Those thoughts have crossed my mind a few times…" He laughed, more half-heartedly, while he said it even though a lump was forming in his throat.

"And when you imagine the twinkle in Margaret's eyes when you think about holding her close as you two watch the kids play in the backyard, your heart starts beating faster and faster, right?"

Taking a direly needed swig of the homemade gin, Hawkeye nodded, not really able to say anything again.

"Well…" BJ took a drink of his own 'rat poison', "as far as I know, that's what it feels like to be a dad." Shrugging with a sad smile on his face, he added, "Of course I haven't seen my little girl since she wore booties that could fit in a shot class…now she's almost two."

"At least you were there when she was born…you've been introduced. I missed out on being there when Margaret was going through all of the changes that she went through…I missed out being able to maybe feel the baby, or I guess _babies_ kick. I missed out on holding her hand when she was in all that pain that _I_ pretty much put her through. And most of all I missed out on my kids being born and the first days of their lives…and who knows _when_ I'll actually get to meet them!"

BJ just sat in silence, not really blaming his friend for what he had said. He watched the man across the tent hang his head in what looked like shame. "Beej, I'm sorry…I'm sorry. I know you've missed out on just as much. I had no right to say that." Looking back up to him, the more experienced father could see that Hawkeye's eyes were bloodshot, mostly from unshed tears. He looked older, as if he had aged just in those three or four minutes.

"No Hawk, you have the right to say what you did. You're right…I've missed out on a lot of Erin's life but I _have_ been introduced." He didn't really know what to say to make his best friend understand that he wasn't mad about what he had said.

"I just get so frustrated you know?" Hawkeye said as he stood and began pacing the tent a bit once more.

"I know, and I understand that," BJ answered watching his friend sadly, "Listen, why don't you go call Margaret early…who knows, she might be _waiting_ for you to call. She probably doesn't think you'll actually wait until it's noon there," he smiled knowingly.

Hawkeye stopped and stared blankly ahead then spoke, "Yeah sure, why not…I'm just gonna drive myself crazy if I try to wait for another hour and a half." With that, he turned to the door and walked toward the office.

"HQ Seoul, this is Sergeant Pryor." Again his voice was muffled, his mouth full of whatever goodies he could find.

"Sparky, it's Captain Pierce over here at the 4077th again. Can you put through the same call you did a few hours ago? It's important." Radar was no where to be seen, so Hawkeye plopped down at the desk and went for it.

Sparky sighed heavily. He didn't usually let people tie up the lines for too long, and for more than once a day unless they were high brass, but it sounded pretty important. "Where was it again?"

"Bellevue Hospital, New York City…Maternity. And I wanna talk to Margaret Pierce." He was tapping his fingers on the desk, impatiently. His heart ached, he wanted to _be_ with her, not just _talk_. And he wouldn't even be able to talk for long, just a few minutes. He had so many questions and things he wanted to say that would never fit into a three or four minute phone call.

After waiting for a few minutes, Hawkeye opened his shirt pocket once more and took out the picture of Margaret holding their beautiful babies. He could feel a couple hot tears run down his cheek. Reaching up, he dabbed them away with the back of his hand, put the picture back in his pocket and reached into his other one, grabbing Margaret's letter. Figuring he had enough time before the call was put through to read it once more, he unfolded the paper and read the now familiar words.

It didn't take him long to read the letter. He had read it about 20 times that day and was thinking about it constantly in the O.R. Whenever he read it, his heart seemed to break a little more. When he first read it he had ended up blubbering like a baby, but when he thought of blubbering like a 'baby', his heart seemed to twist even more.

Though it hadn't taken him long to read the letter this time, it had still taken at least five minutes. He concentrated a little more on the phone and listened for sign of anyone on the other end. "Sparky, you able to put a call through?" Hawkeye asked, not really expecting a reply. And, of course, there _wasn't_ one. Putting the letter back in his pocket, he pulled out the two pictures of his kids again. He just couldn't help the smile that spread across his face when he looked at the black and white photos.

He couldn't believe that his son was a _redhead_. He never would have guessed it from the pictures and he had been pretty fooled by Margaret, thinking that she really had natural blonde hair. A lot of the kids he grew up with had blonde hair that got darker as they got older…of course it didn't usually get lighter _after_ it got darker, but maybe him not noticing that - was a guy thing. He shook his head and laughed a bit at the thought. Turning the picture over he read the words out loud, "'Michael Benjamin Pierce…three pounds, one ounce…May 28th, 1953...' The day I became a dad." Looking at the picture of his little daughter, he smiled yet again, "Alicia Danielle. The perfect name Margaret…"

Finally, the other line started ringing and soon there was a female voice that answered the phone. "Bellevue General - Maternity Ward."

Sitting up a little straighter, Hawkeye's voice sounded excited, "Yeah, I'd like to talk to Margaret Pierce. I know this is a little earlier than what she expected, but I couldn't wait anymore…"

The small voice on the other end giggled a little, "No problem Doctor Pierce, she's been waiting for your call since I told her you called earlier. Hold on a minute, I'll transfer this closer to her room."

"Thanks." He tapped his fingers on the desk, a little impatiently. After having been waiting _forever_ to talk to his wife, the extra few minutes were going to kill him.

"Ben!?" Margaret picked up the phone in the nurses station outside her room.

"Hey! Margaret! Oh my God, it's good to hear you…" Hawkeye felt a little breathless all of a sudden, but then again he _always_ got a little breathless when he talked to the love of his life.

It was obvious in her voice that the new mom was choking back tears of joy, "It's great to hear you too Ben. How ya doin' Honey?"

"I couldn't be better unless I was there with you…I still don't believe we have _two_ babies." Once again, his voice broke with emotion.

There was a small sniffle, "I can't either…I'm the one that gave birth to them both, and I still don't believe it. You were right. I should have known, you're 'always' right." She was able to laugh through her happy, yet still sort of sad, tears.

Hawkeye laughed, his own vision becoming foggier with tears prickling his eyelids. "You know at first I was just teasing you… But, there's so many things I wanna talk about."

"Well, talk away!" The woman's voice sounded more chipper now.

He thought for a moment, wondering what he wanted to ask first, "Well…how are they doing? How are _you_ doing?"

"Well, I'm just fine! Very happy…yet…pretty sad since you can't be here-…a little sore still." She trailed off and tried to change the subject quickly, "Allie weighs about four pounds, three ounces now and is really active… Oh Honey, I wish you could see her squirming around like she does, she's so adorable! And just loves to be cuddled."

"That's great!" The proud father was relived about his daughter's health, "What about Mikey?"

"Oh he's doing really great too. He's almost at three and half pounds. Pretty active, just like his sister. He's always grabbing for my nose when I hold him And he really likes to be cuddled too. I can't believe how much those two have changed just since they were born though. They're so healthy now, too."

Weight seemed to be lifted off of Hawkeye's shoulders, just knowing that both of their babies were healthy and sounded happy. "No colic or anything?"Nope," an involuntary squeal of delight raced down the wire to a very wide-smiling doctor, "like I said, they're very healthy. I mean…other than sometimes to be fed or to have a diaper changed, they barely even cry. They're very, very good babies…even if they _are_ Pierces." The same wide-smiling doctor could clearly see the wink he knew his wife had wanted to send him with the statement.

Laughing, he 'overlooked' the comment (knowing that a laugh would be enough of a reply to it) and asked, "When does the doctor think you'll all be able to go back to Maine?"

"Well, he said he wants to give it one more week, just to be sure everything's okay. Oh, I can't wait to get back home…I really miss Crabapple Cove. I've been cooped up in this hospital for a long time." The woman on the other end seemed to trail off for a moment, but soon spoke up again, "Of course, that's kind of my fault. Doctor Ortell said I could be checked out and just stay at the hotel and visit whenever I wanted, but I told him I wanted to stay close. I can't imagine being too far away from our babies…"

"Understandable, Sweetheart." Hawkeye smiled, wishing he could wrap his arms around his wife and kiss her neck, just to let her know that he was behind her a hundred percent. "I love the names you chose for them, by the way…and I can't believe my son is a _redhead_! You know you really had me fooled."

"Oh…well…I'm glad you like them. I was kind of worried about naming them without seeing what you thought." It sounded like she had really been worried about what he would think. Then she the next part of his statement seemed to catch her attention, "You really thought I was a natural blonde?"

"Well…yeah." He replied, kind of coyly. "Like I was thinking earlier, I just kinda thought it was a _natural_ thing that your hair got darker. I grew up with a lot of kids who were blonde that started getting darker roots as they got older."

"And then they got lighter again?" Margaret was laughing, "Oh Honey, you're such a man…"

A feigned offended tone entered his voice, "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Still laughing, the former head nurse could almost _see_ the smile on her husband's face, "Yeah well…it looks so cute on Mikey. It's like mine was…auburn, not orange."

"BJ and I both agreed that we'd love to see you as carrot top," Hawkeye was thinking about how cute his son must look with his red hair, but couldn't help but laugh about his _wife_ with the same red hair. Sure, she'd look great, but it would be _really_ different.

"Now _that_ is exactly why I started bleaching my hair at sixteen…I HATED being called carrot-top all the time. I mean it doesn't even make sense to me! Carrot-tops are _green_." She may have replied with a short tone, but she wasn't mad at her husband or his best friend by any means. She knew they didn't understand what it was like getting so much ridicule just for the color of her hair…

"I'm sorry Honey, I see exactly what you mean though." He knew she wasn't mad at him, but wanted to change the subject. "Michael's really the perfect name for our son…I never knew you had a little brother."

"Well I barely did…he was only a few hours old when he…you know." Her voice grew husky, "I never even saw him other than those few seconds when I snuck a peak through my parent's bedroom door."

Wanting to keep the conversation somewhat happy, Hawkeye decided to try to steer his wife's thoughts to something much more enjoyable. "Well I'm sure Michael's uncle would love his little nephew. And his niece, of course! I gotta say Margaret…I'm touched that you named our little girl after my mom."

"It only seemed fitting. Daniel showed me the picture of your mom that he keeps in his wallet and he's right. Allie really _does_ look just like her grandmother. She has your nose too! It's so adorable…"

"Poor kid," he laughed, but another lump formed in the new father's throat, "I can't wait to meet her…" he had to choke back tears, "and our son…"

"I keep telling them how wonderful their daddy is…I think they're really looking forward to meeting you too." The chief surgeon could easily tell that Margaret was trying to keep her tears back like he was.

A few minutes had already passed. "Sweetheart, I don't know how much longer this line will be available…I just wanna tell you…I love you so much. So…so very much. I'd give anything to be with you right now. I…I just want to take you in my arms and kiss you and hug you and try to tell you how sorry I am for not being able to be there with you when you needed me most, going through all of that pain that _I_ pretty much put you in. I love you so much…and I want you to know that. You _do_ know that don't you?" His voice was even huskier than it was earlier.

The woman on the other end was crying now…a mixture of joyous tears and sorrow. "Ben I love you too… and I know you love me, don't worry. And I know you would have been here if you could." There was a small sniffle, "I love you more than you could ever imagine…"

It was silent for a moment while Hawkeye tried to collect himself. Soon, he broke the silence, "Honey…They're gonna cut us off soon. Tell Allie and Mikey I love them very, very much. And tell dad thanks for me."

"I will…I will. Thanks for what though?"

"For being there for you when I couldn't. I'm very grateful for him for that."

Margaret nodded, "Okay. I'll tell him that…I love you, Ben. I can't say it enough."

"I love you too Magpie…" And with that, the line went dead. Wiping his eyes with his sleeve, he put the phone back in the bag and tried to fully collect himself before going back out into the compound, sort of a lost cause anymore. He pulled out the snapshots of his family and looked at them, longing to be with his beautiful wife, his two beautiful babies, and of course his father. He was still rather jealous of his father for being able to witness all that he wasn't able too, but like he told Margaret, he was grateful for him.

Easing himself up from the chair, his body stiff from the four hours of O.R., he walked slowly out the door of the office and back toward the Swamp. The still would probably be used tonight…

**FINALLY! Another chapter done! Sorry that took so long but please, tell me what you thought! I'd like to thank Lissy for all of her help in the whole chapter (she gives GREAT opinions- THANKS!) and for all of her help, telling me how red-heads think of being called 'Carrot Top'. Hehe, thanks a bunch girly! :-D VERY much appreciated! **

**As for the next update, I'll get it up when I can. Again, sorry this one took so long, but hopefully the next one won't! And thanks to all of those who reviewed too!**

**THANKS FOR READING! Okay, NOW you can review! ;-) **


	26. A Few Big Decisions

_Thanks again for all of your awesome reviews! Hope you like this chapter…sorry it's a little short! :-S_

**Chapter 26**

**MASH 4077th**** - June 11****th****, 1953 - 1:00 AM**

The still really was being used that night. It had only been about an hour and a half since Hawkeye spoke to his wife, but as soon as one martini was gone, he'd just pour another one, and another one, and another one.

BJ was in Post-Op, starting his rounds, having just taken over Charles' shift. The bald, heavy-set man walked to his quarters, the craving to listen to one of his records had him humming a rather upbeat tune as he walked, even though he was tired from the night's work. He didn't like to admit it to himself, but Hawkeye had really become a pretty close friend in this hell he was shanghaied into. When he had congratulated the new father earlier after watching the film with everyone else, he truly meant what he said. He was very happy for the chief surgeon, and sympathized with him the fact that he couldn't be with his new family. The pompous major was actually willing to do whatever it took to help his…friend…cope with being apart from his loved ones.

Coming a little closer to the Swamp, it looked like maybe he would have to try and help a little earlier than he had expected, or prepared for. Through the screen, he could see his tent-mate at the table where the still sat, pouring himself a glass of the homemade gin. It didn't look like it was just his first drink of the night, either. Hawkeye's eyes were visibly blood shot, even through the screen from where Winchester stood, about two yards away. The jar of olives that had been pretty much full when he left for Post-Op duty earlier that afternoon was about half empty by now, and it was a medium sized container as far as olive jars went. The man's black hair was a mess and his shoulders were drooping. 'Oh good heavens…' Charles thought.

Hawkeye took a seat back on his cot before taking a sip of his martini. The door opened and he looked up. The room was still stationary since he wasn't quite drunk enough to not feel anything…yet. "Charles." He nodded toward the man at the door in a 'welcoming' gesture.

"Pierce, what _are_ you doing?" Winchester tried to be gentle in his small interrogation, but the question may have come out a little harsher than he would have liked.

"What am I doing?" The tone in the doctor's voice made it seem like it was a stupid question, "What I'm doing is trying to drown my sorrows…my wife just had twins a couple weeks ago…I've been a dad for two weeks and didn't know… I know drinking all of this won't make me _feel_ better and it won't get me home, but I'm just trying _feel_ better." With that, Hawkeye gulped down the rest of the drink in one shot, chasing it down with the olive he had slid off the toothpick.

Sure, he may have contradicted himself, but the point got through to the other man, still standing at the doorway in his lab coat. "How many is that?"

"I dunno." Pierce shrugged, "eight…maybe ten"

Charles sighed. Ten drinks in about an hour and a half… "Don't you think you should be done with that stuff for awhile?"

"Would _you_ be if you were in _my_ place?" He asked, almost sadistically.

The question hit him hard. _Would_ he be able to quit drinking if he was in the same situation that his friend was in? Now he was the only one in the Swamp who didn't know what it was like to really be in love and to be a world apart from the one you love more than anything else in the world. Of course he was a world away from his mother, his father, and his sister Honoria, but that was hardly the same thing. Clearing his throat, he reached for the glass that was in Hawkeye's hand, snatching it from him easily, the alcohol messing with the man's reflexes, even though he wasn't all that drunk. "_Why_ are you drinking Pierce?" He tried, very hard, to be calm and helpful… "It's not going to get you home and it's not going to make you feel better. You said it yourself."

The man in question looked over at the balding Swamp Rat angrily for a moment. Then his expression turned to one of more sadness than anger. "You just can't understand this Charles. BJ can't understand what I'm going through…Potter can't understand it…Klinger can't understand it, and God knows Father Mulcahy can't understand it either. There's no one here that's really _knows_ what I'm going through. BJ got to _meet _little girl before he had to come here via the American travel agency that just does _such_ a great job…"

"Hawkeye," it was the second time he had ever used his colleague's 'real' name, and both times were in the same day… "I know that none of us have had to deal with what you're going through, and we can all appreciate that, but you just have to remember that you _are_ going to see your children one day. You know how the peace talks are going. For once they seem to be heading in the right direction. Who knows? You might be kissing Margaret for the first time as mother and father in a month or two. You'll see Alicia and Michael before long. You've got more rotation points than anyone here, you're the closest one to that doorway. You deserve the key to that door very much so, but drinking this homemade hooch won't lead the way to what you need. It'll harm you more and could even lessen your chance of _ever _meeting your son and daughter in the first place. You're a doctor Pierce, you know what drinking so much in so little time can do to you. It's a big risk and it won't drive all of your pains away anyway. Why risk it?"

Hawkeye looked over toward his empty glass, the bare toothpick resting on the side. "I don't mean to sound redundant, but I just wanna be there…I wanna hold my wife in my arms…and my kids of course! It's not fair Charles, it's just not fair."

"I'd have to agree with that completely." The Bostonian surgeon took a seat on his bunk.

Hawkeye stiffly bent down to take his boots off along with his socks, "I'll tell you what else isn't fair…the amount of cold showers I've had to take in the past six months. It's a good thing there's not much for warm water around here…if you get my drift."

Chuckling, 'Chuckles' nodded, "Yes, I think I _do_ know what you mean by that. Had to be tough on you Pierce, going from getting what you love all the time to none at all…" For really the first time, that Hawkeye had seen, the third Swamp Rat's eyes sparkled in fun. Well, he had seen it before, but not when _he_ had been talking to him, at least not much.

"It _is_ hard!" He laughed, although he was really hurting inside. Hawkeye's voice got softer and a little slower and separated. "I miss running my fingers through her soft hair, and the way it smells. I have her old hat close by all the time, but it's not the same… It's starting to smell more like canvas than anything else." He maneuvered himself so he was lying down on his cot, his arms folded behind his head, "I miss feeling her soft skin under my fingertips and feeling the goose-bumps she got when I kissed her neck…and the way her lips felt warm and soft on mine and the way they tasted like…strawberries almost. I miss feeling her weight on me when we slept in her cot all the time. And the way her eyes lit up whenever we talked about the baby…well I guess that was about the _babies_. And then we can't forget my other favorite part, but you probably don't want to hear about that."

Charles listened intently, knowing that just being there to listen would help his friend more than anything…well, a discharge from the Army would help more, but he couldn't exactly do that. If he could, he'd be on his way back to Boston faster than it would take to sign all of the paperwork. "True… Though I have to say, I'm pretty proud of you."

"You're _proud_ of _me_? Those are four words I never expected to hear you say, especially talking to me while saying 'em." Leaning up on his elbow, Hawkeye could get a better view of the man that had really sort of flattered him, "What for?"

"For being faithful to Margaret. She was hurt very much by that Donald Penobslob and I'm just proud of you for not doing what he did…especially since you were once quite the womanizer."

Hawkeye understood, "I would never do anything to hurt Margaret. I'd never be able to live with myself if I did. I love her with all my heart and would never betray her. When she called me from Tokyo all that time ago…I felt my heart breaking for her. And I felt like _killing_ that Lieutenant Colonel Jackass and I'm a pretty peaceful guy. I _hate_ all the killing in this stupid war, but then it just seemed fitting and necessary because of what he did to my Margaret. I…I just…I just can't believe that anyone would do that to her."

"Nor can I…to anyone. But nonetheless, I'm happy that you're being faithful to her. Like I said, I'm proud of you."

Smiling, the temporarily celibate physician replied, "Thanks Charles."

**4:00 A.M.**

BJ stumbled, sleepily, into the Swamp and collapsed on his cot, waking Charles up. "You're home early." The ordinarily arrogant doctor mumbled, still half asleep.

"Things were going smoothly in Post-Op…Kellye said she could take care of everything for the rest of my shift." BJ spoke into his pillow, but was still understandable.

"Didn't happen to see Pierce while you were out there, did you?"

"No, why?"

Yawning, Charles turned over in his cot, "He left a couple hours ago, didn't say where he was going."

Rising rigidly from his bunk, BJ headed for the door, "I'm gonna try to go find him. He's pretty depressed, no saying what he'll try to get outta here."

"Good luck." Winchester mumbled and fell back asleep.

It may have been June, but the night air, or rather the very _early morning _air, felt cold. BJ stopped in the middle of the make-shift basketball court and looked around. His first thought was going over to Rosie's, but it was actually dark inside the building. Then, he looked back toward the Officer's Club. Thinking that might be a better chance, the mustache clad Swamp Rat made his way over to the metal building.

The door creaked as it opened. The only light in the 'club' was coming from the juke box and there was obviously no one in there. Even Igor had closed up. Of course, he didn't lock it, but that was pretty usual seeing as how he was pretty drunk when he left every night. 'Must be fun running this place…' BJ mused, turning on the light to make sure Hawkeye really wasn't in the building. After checking behind the counter, he was satisfied and turned to leave, swinging the door closed behind him.

Something in the camp's main building caught his attention. BJ headed toward Potter's office and saw a soft, grey light while he was in Radar's bit of the building. Tip-toeing past the sleeping company clerk, he made sure to keep his big feet clear of the silhouetted furniture, not wanting to stub his toes. Looking through the Plexiglas windows in the doors, BJ found missing friend. The whirr of the projector could be heard from behind the wooden panels and the images of Margaret, Daniel, and the twins went through the screen. Hawkeye sat behind the Colonel's desk, resting his head in his hands and watching the film longingly. A small smile was on the chief surgeon's face and, seeing the backward version of what his best friend was watching, one spread on BJ's as well.

BJ brought his hand up to push the door open and go in to talk to the new father, but felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped, startled by the sudden presence in the room. "Easy Hunnicutt." Colonel Potter whispered, "Just thought I would come and see what's going on in my office."

"How'd you find out? I just saw the light in here while I was looking for Hawkeye."

"I didn't. I've been trying to get to sleep for about four hours and just can't do it…my sleeping pills are in my office."

"Wouldn't it be easier having those in your tent?" BJ whispered back.

Used to having to answer that question, Sherman just laughed, "_Too_ easy."

"Ah, gotcha."

"So…I'm guessing that Pierce in my office?"

"Right, he's watching the film again. I don't hear the commentary though, must just be watching it to see his kids…" A sad tone entered the younger man's voice.

Potter nodded, "Yeah, I could understand that." The older, grey-haired man thought about something long and hard before speaking up, "Listen BJ…can I talk to you about something?"

"Uh...sure Colonel. What is it?"

The C.O. started walking toward the door and motioned for his colleague to follow. When they were outside, he spoke up, "Let's go to the Swamp…we should discuss this with Charles too."

"Uh-hu…" He was understandably confused about the way his 'father figure' was acting, but followed, a little worried about all that was going on.

About an hour later Hawkeye was watching the film for about the fifth time in the office. While it was playing through the rest before the parts with Margaret, his dad, and his kids, he'd think about everything going on in his life. Then he'd get depressed again and want a drink from the Colonel's liquor cabinet. He kept thinking about what Charles had said though and knew he wasn't just trying to keep him from getting too drunk and out of control. All the booze that he'd want to drink to drown his sorrows would be pretty bad for him and, being the doctor he was, he knew that having way too much like he would, could lead to some pretty big consequences…maybe even irreversible, devastating ones.

No, he decided that he was pretty much on the wagon from now on. Maybe a little celebratory drink every now and then, but his binging was done. He had a family now, he couldn't be that care-free bachelor anymore. Of course, for the past six and a half months he _wasn't_ a bachelor, very faithful to his wife - no matter _how_ many cold showers it took, tried his hardest to be a family man in training, and yet hit the still a few times too many.

He was in a lot of pain, not being able to see his brand new family for however long, but every time he saw his son and daughter's sweet faces and his wife's beautiful smile, he felt stronger and stronger about jumping on the wagon. He could get past anything that got in his way if he just kept thinking about those two little faces, about the first time he'd be able to hold his brand new babies, and about the next time he'd be able to look into his wife's sparkling blue eyes and feel her soft skin and do everything he missed doing with her, and do all the things he missed out on while half a world separated them. Even though his pain was _caused_ by not being able to see his family, the help for getting through the pain would also _come_ from them. Not a bottle of booze.

Looking up, he saw the outside of the hospital in New York City again and turned his full attention to the screen, smiling from ear to ear when he saw his wife smiling back at him…

**MASH 4077****th**** - June 11****th****, 1953 - 5:30 P.M.**

"You wanted to see me Colonel?" Hawkeye entered the room, sat down and put his feet up on the C.O.'s desk in normal Hawkeye fashion. His shoulders were drooped, still pretty depressed.

"That I did," Colonel Potter took a seat from where he was by the filing cabinet. "Hey Radar!"

The short corporal swung the door open and stepped inside the room, carrying his clipboard and a file in his left hand. "Here's that paperwork you wanted."

"Good, can I get that paperwork I wanted?" Realizing that Radar had just said that he had what he wanted, he cleared his throat, "Right, thanks Corporal."

Hawkeye just chuckled at the show. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?" It didn't really matter _how_ depressed he was, hearing Radar's double talk could make him laugh. With that, the young man went back to his part of the office to fill out the morning report.

"Of course not, I'd like to talk to you about something." There was something in the older man's eyes that looked playful, like he was trying to hide something…something needing to be shared.

"Uh oh...that doesn't sound too good." Pierce played along.

The Colonel laughed while he took his glasses off to rub his eyes quick, "I've talked this over with everyone, except for Casey, and they all agree that I should give you this." He pushed the file folder over to the edge of his desk.

He opened the off-white file, and the captain's eyes grew wide. "Really?"

Potter nodded, "For the two and a half years that I've been here, you've been the best damn surgeon I've ever seen. You disserve that discharge. I've arranged it so you now have all your points. You were damn close to it anyway. Margaret needs you now more than we do, especially if those twins are anything like their daddy."

"Uh...thanks, Colonel." Hawkeye had to speak through the lump in his throat. Plus he really didn't know really what to say. "Are...are you sure I can have this? I mean...BJ...his family and..."

"BJ was in on it too, Pierce." The honorary grandfather smiled fatherly and a playful tone entered his voice, "We all want you outta here, Captain!"

Hawkeye laughed, "Oh I want me outta here too." He shook his head, "I don't believe it...I…I'm going home..."

"Congratulations, son."

One of his dreams had finally come true, he was going home..."When do I leave?"

"Tomorrow afternoon." The colonel laughed at the look on his chief surgeon's face, "I'd say you'll be home in time to welcome Margaret and your dad back and help get your kids accustomed to their new home sweet home."

Hawkeye just leaned back in the chair he sat in across from the C.O. and sighed happily, "You know, I've had the day I go home planned out for a loooong time...Ever since Margaret went stateside."

Colonel Potter got up and went over to his liquor cabinet to get two glasses and a bottle of scotch, "Well, how about you tell me all about it over a drink?"

Hawkeye remembered about the previous night's 'jumping on the wagon' promise to himself, but decided that this really _was_ a celebratory drink, "Sounds good." The sparkle finally found its place back in the handsome blue eyes, "So...can I call you Sherman now that I'm pretty much done with the Army?"

"Don't mind if you do." The old surgeon in question winked, raising his shot glass, "To your new family."

The new family man smiled proudly and clicked his glass to children's stand-in grandfather, "Cheers."

**Well, sorry it took SOOOOO long to write and it's so short, but there ya have it! Don't worry, the story's not over yet! :-D Thanks for all of your AWESOME reviews for chapter 25 and for all of your support. I'd also like to thank Lissy again for being such an awesome opinion-giver and to Bev for giving me the idea about the whole 'cold shower' thing! ;-) THANKS! And, I really hope you liked this chapter. Please tell me what you thought and I'll try to update again soon, but school's getting harder in the fourth quarter. (ANYBODY KNOW WHERE THE HELL I'M GONNA USE ALGEBRA II AFTER HIGH SCHOOL?!?!?!?!?!) Ugh. Have I mentioned how much I hate that place?**

**Thanks again for reading! Click the button! :-] Please?**


	27. Don't Tell EVERYONE I'm On My Way! Yet

_Author's Note: Thanks again for your awesome reviews. I'm so glad you like the fact that Hawkeye's going home like he is. I was really kinda worried about that. But then again, what else is new!? But, I heard that maybe our newly 'freed' doctor was a little too calm about the news? Well, let's see if maybe the news has sunk in a little more since we left him in the office…_

**Chapter 27**

**MASH 4077th**** - June 11****th****, 1953 - 6:00 P.M.**

The newly discharged surgeon left the main office after talking with Colonel Potter for about half an hour. Suddenly everything in the Korean hills looked beautiful to Hawkeye. For the first time, he could see the flowers that bloomed in the mine field as pretty and the bright blue sky looked like a huge blanket of soft blue silk. The sun seemed to be shining brighter and colors seemed to be more vibrant everywhere he looked. It seemed like tons of weight had been lifted off of his shoulders as well and he was…free. A huge burst of energy surged through the excited doctor's body and before he knew it, he was doing cartwheels across the compound, headed for the Swamp.

BJ watched from his cot, a letter from Peg in one hand, and a martini in the other. "Something tells me Potter told him the good news," he laughed.

Charles was at his desk, actually using a pen and paper to write a letter to his sister. When he looked up, he was laughing as well, "Gee, what makes you say that?"

The Swamp door swung open and the acrobatic, homeward bound physician bounced into the tent, a gigantic smile on his face. "Crabapple Cove, here I come!" He bellowed in pure delight.

Even though both of the other doctors had already known their 'ringleader' was being discharged from the Army, they couldn't help the pleasure they felt when he said it. When he finally _knew_ about it. Heading over to the still, BJ refilled his glass and poured two more. He handed one to Hawkeye, and Charles grabbed the other one. "I'd like to make a toast…to the best friend I've ever had," he smiled solemnly, "Hawk, I'm happy for you. I really am. Don't get me wrong, if you didn't want to be sent state-side, I'd take your place in a heartbeat," he chuckled, "But really, you deserve it more than anyone in this outfit. You've been here the longest and heck, Margaret will need all the help you can give with those twins of yours!" By now, BJ was laughing hysterically.

"Especially if they're anything like their father…" Charles was laughing harder than either Hawkeye nor BJ had ever seen him laugh before. Which caused them both to laugh even harder.

"And what…what," Hawkeye was finding it hard to speak, let alone breathe, he was chortling loudly in his unique sounding, warm laughter, "What…would be so funny about that?!" He tried to look offended, but the huge smile on his face and the sparkling in his eyes made it impossible for him to look angry.

Charles was trying to control himself, "Well, can you imagine…two sweet, little, innocent children being corrupted by your sense of humor?"

"Poor Margaret, having to put up with a houseful of Hawkeyes…" The sandy haired physician flashed a teasing smile to his friend. There was more laughter until it died down after awhile.

Hawkeye really got to thinking about his twins though, well…even more than he had. He wondered what they would be like when they were older. Would they be like him, or like their mother? Or would they be entirely different? He really couldn't wait to find out. The (almost former) Swamp Rat took a sip of his martini, nursing it for as long as it would take him so he wouldn't have to have more than one. Looking over toward his best friend, he noticed the distant look on his face. "Beej, I'm sorry."

It looked as though BJ had been shaken awake, the way he jumped slightly when Hawkeye spoke, "About what?" He looked confused, feigning a gleeful smile.

"I know how much you want to go home." Hawkeye felt guilty about being able to leave. "If I could, I'd take you home with me." Looking over to Charles, he added, "…Both of you. Heck, I'd take _everyone_ back to the states if I could."

"Hawk, I meant what I said," BJ smiled, more convincingly, "I'm really happy for you. You have to get home and meet that little boy and that little girl that you had a part in creating. I've met my little girl. God knows I want to get back to her, and pick up where I left off in being a father to her… But it's your turn to start that job for your little ones."

Nodding, Hawkeye grinned slightly, looking into the depths of his half full martini glass. "Thanks Beej. That really means a lot."

BJ raised his glass yet again, "Congratulations Hawk."

"Here here." Charles agreed, raising his own glass.

He took another swig of the martini before continuing, "I'll tell ya what. As soon as this war is over, give Margaret and me a call. I'd really like for Allie and Mike to meet their uncles." Warm smiles were exchanged in the small group.

Suddenly, the PA blared out into the compound, "Attention all personnel: incoming wounded! All medical teams report to triage! Sorry Captain Pierce, you're not outta here yet!"

"Now that's something I won't miss…" Setting his almost empty martini glass on the stove, Hawkeye headed out of the Swamp for one of the last times, behind Charles and BJ while chopper blades sliced through the air.

**Midnight**

Everyone had left the operating room tired and sore, but still ready to party in the officer's club. Seeing as how it was the chief surgeon leaving, a man that had been called 'The heart and soul of the 4077th', his farewell fiesta would be a pretty popular place to be. Just like it had been on Christmas for his and Margaret's wedding reception, Hawkeye's celebration drew quite the crowd. Almost the entire staff of the mobile army surgical hospital was crammed inside the metal building. Music was blaring from the juke box, drinks were being served by the bottle, and everyone was having a great time.

Even BJ, who was still insanely jealous, yet exuberant about his friend's discharge, was having a blast. The slightly snoggered Californian went up to Hawkeye at the bar, "Lemme buy you a drink, you lucky dog!" His speech was slurred as he slapped the still sober man on the shoulder.

"Nothing for me, thanks." Hawkeye replied, chuckling at how much of a character BJ could be when he was drunk.

"Aw come on, I gotta buy you a drink sometime. I still owe you!" BJ stood up a little straighter, and then lost his balance, falling onto a barstool in a sitting position.

"What for?"

"For being my best friend in this whole damn upholstered men's toilet and for helping me get by the worst times of my life." It didn't matter if he was drunk or not, the young doctor's words were heartfelt and meaningful anyway they were given.

Hawkeye smiled, truly touched, "Well, in that case I guess I'll let you buy me a virgin martini."

"Virgin martini?" Igor asked when the newest member of the wagon riders ordered his 'drink'.

"Yes sir, virgin martini. No alcohol please." Hawkeye nodded, trying to keep from laughing.

Igor looked even more confused than normal, "But sir, a virgin martini would just be an olive, wouldn't it?"

"In that case, make it a quintuple virgin martini…better yet, just gimme the jar and a fork." Those handsome blue eyes were sparkling with laughter when the bartender, whose IQ was no where NEAR as big as his shoe size, gave him the jar of olives and a halfway clean fork. "Thank you sir, give the check to the stranger at the end of the bar." He turned back to BJ and thanked him before over exaggerating a toast with his olive jar, and going over to where Potter, Mulcahy, and Klinger were all standing in the corner by the slot machines.

"Hey, there's the lucky devil!" Father Mulcahy greeted. Mumbling, he added, "Well, figuratively anyway. Lucky…duck, how 'bout?!"

Hawkeye just laughed at the priest's awkward correction and raised his jar of olives in gratitude, "Thank you Father."

"What is that Pierce, a quadruple-triple martini?" The C.O. laughed.

"Something I think I'll call a…Wagon Hopper's Martini." It felt so good to be able to laugh and be his old witty self again. Hawkeye could really sort of do that now that he knew he would be with his family before long. Even if the thoughts of Henry Blake _did_ keep popping into his head. He'd just push those thoughts away and concentrate on the fun everyone was having, including himself.

The three men laughed at his remark before Klinger shook his head, "I hate to think what his place will be like when you're back stateside…"

"It sure won't be the same without ya, kid." Potter looked solemn, "But we'll manage. Who knows, maybe your replacement will be almost as good as you in surgery?"

"Maybe better." Hawkeye shrugged. He didn't mind thinking that, he knew there were surgeons out there who were better at it than he was. Well, maybe he _did_ hate to admit it, but he knew it might be true.

It was Father Mulcahy's turn to shake his head, "No, I don't think so Hawkeye. I may not know a lot about surgery, but I do know that you're the best darn surgeon out there."

"Well, no matter what the replacement is like, he won't be nearly as good a friend as you've become to a lot of people here. I can guarantee that." Klinger added.

"I'll second that." Both Potter and Mulcahy ended up agreeing at the same time.

The raven haired doctor smiled, "I can't tell you how much this all means to me. I'll miss everyone here…seeing you all everyday. We _have_ to get back together after the war, is that understood?" He tried to act tough, but his emotions were messing with him.

"Don't I know it!" Colonel Potter's voice sounded strangely shaky, "I gotta meet those honorary grandkids of mine."

"Exactly," the homeward physician looked at his 'father-in-law' and then to his other friends, "Like I told BJ and Charles in the Swamp earlier today, I want Allie and Mikey to meet everyone in their family. We may not be blood related, but we've all become closer than a _lot_ of families over the years."

"Hey everyone! Quiet down now! Someone turn off the music, will ya?" Radar stood on a chair, still not really able to see over many people in the crowd. The pandemonium ceased in the club and it was close to silent so the short corporal went on, "Could Captain Pierce please come over here?"

"What are you gonna do to me Radar?" The 'man of the hour' called jokingly as he made his way through the tight crowd.

"Just get up here!" Again, laughter rumbled through the room. Finally, the tall, handsome captain was standing by Radar. Speaking back out toward the crowd, the company clerk continued, "We just thought it was about time for our lucky-duck, Crabapple Cove returnee Hawkeye here to get his going-away presents." There was applause, but the loudest came from the recipient of the said presents.

When the applause came to a hault, Radar picked up the first, small box on the pile and read the card on the front so everyone could hear. "First, from the motor pool…A set of brand new ear plugs that no new father should be without!" Hawkeye was chuckling along with everyone else when he grabbed the box. "Secondly, from the kitchen staff…four jars of WWII surplus baby food…?" There were some confused expressions as to _why_ the army would have surplus baby food. Radar just laughed when he read the rest to himself before reading it aloud, "Best if cleaned out and used for new 'depression shot glasses'." Now everyone understood what was behind it, so there was more laughter.

"Ours next!" Kellye requested from somewhere in the crowd.

After finding the right box, Radar read the tag, "From the nurses…Another custom 4077th quilt so the twins won't have to argue over who gets to use to neatest quilt ever made." What the nurses wrote made laughter erupt yet again.

"Hey, that'll be handy! Thanks girls!" Hawkeye took the box and opened it quick to look at the other quilt. It was similar to the first one they made when everyone thought there would just be _one_ baby, and was just as nice.

"There's more!" Nurse Able hollered.

The company clerk searched for another box from the nurses and realized that the other presets were stacked on top of the rather large one. The one from the nurses. "Also from the nurses…Five outfits for a baby girl and five outfits for a baby boy along with ten pairs of unisex pajamas for two cuddly Pierce babies.

Hawkeye grinned at the nurses, many of whom he used to chase after, "That's awfully nice ladies…thanks a ton." When he first arrived in Korea, he never would have thought he'd be getting _that_ kind of a gift from the nurses on his last night overseas.

Continuing on, Radar picked up another package, "From the corpsman…" Since he written it, the announcer was already laughing hysterically, "From the corpsman…the father's kit for changing diapers. Complete with nose plugs, goggles, rubber gloves, and tongs!"

Even more laughter exploded in the crowd, bigger than it had before. It was a very clever gift idea, mainly thought up by Klinger and Radar. "Gee thanks guys!" The new father was also in a fit of hysterics, "Clever, very clever!"

"From the surgical staff…two doctor play sets for when the twins are older, and realize that they're daddy is one of the best surgeons anyone will ever come by. When they want to be just like daddy, they can play with these." Radar flipped the card over since there was an arrow on the bottom of the paper, "Of course, to be _just_ like their daddy, the Groucho glasses, added into each set will be necessary as well."

Once again, Hawkeye was truly touched, "Thanks guys, that really means a lot."

"It's the least we could do." Charles grinned, "It was BJ's idea really."

BJ was able to squeeze through the crowd to stand by Charles, "Picked three up in Tokyo…one for Erin too. Thought you might be able to give it to her when you meet up with them in San Francisco."

Colonel Potter had told Hawkeye earlier in the office how BJ had already set it up so that Peg and Erin would meet him at the airport before he would fly the rest of the way to the airport in New York City where he'd make a quick stop before heading home. "I can do that. Thanks Beej." He stepped over to his friend who held his hand out for him to shake. "You too Charles," the balding man had also put his hand out for him so he moved on down the line. "Thanks everyone." Hawkeye announced to the crowd. "I can't tell ya how much all of this means to me…I really can't."

"Well there's still a few more presents you haven't gotten to yet!" Colonel Potter stepped up to the chair where Radar had been standing, "I'd like to say something to go along with what I have here…" The old doctor looked down at his hands where he held an envelope, "Benjamin Franklin 'Hawkeye' Pierce has been a huge part of this unit since he got here, shortly after this war started…oh sorry…Police Action."

There were a few nervous chuckles before he went on, "He's a damn good surgeon and a great doctor and friend, but most of all, he's a damn good husband to a girl I like to think of as one of my daughters, and a brand new father to Alicia Danielle and Michael Benjamin, the newest additions to the Pierce family…and he needs to be with them. He's been here longer than most of us in this room, with a few exceptions, and has spent countless hours in the operating room patching up soldier after soldier. I'm very honored to have worked with him, but I can't wait for him to leave to be with his family." The C.O. handed the envelope down to the non-dry eyed man, "I'd like you to have this. You told me how your dad redid the nursery, but I'm guessing he wasn't fully prepared for _two_ occupants to that room. This just might make the sleeping arrangements for the little ones a bit more comfortable."

Hawkeye opened the envelope and found five American hundred dollar bills. He was stunned, "Colonel…colonel I can't accept this. This is a lot of money."

Potter nodded, "Yes you can. It'll buy another nice crib to go along with the one you said your dad found in the attic, and then whatever else you and Margaret will need…a start to their college money…anything. Maybe even a nice little get-away when Margaret's…up to…that." The colonel cleared his throat, a little uncomfortably.

"That's awfully nice of you sir. Thanks." When Potter carefully stepped down from the chair, Hawkeye held his hand out to shake in a gesture of gratitude.

Sherman grabbed his hand, but pulled him in for a hug, "You're very welcome, Son."

When the two men parted, Mulcahy took that as his chance to give the discharged captain _his _gift. "Hawkeye, I'd like to give you these for your little ones. Spending so much time at the orphanage, with all of those children, many of whom being quite small, I know how important these are."

"What are they, Father?"

"Pacifiers, baby bottles, bibs, and diapers…lots of diapers." The Chaplin winked, "The bare necessities. Well, with the diapers, the not quite _bare_ necessitates."

Hawkeye chuckled, "That's very nice of you, Father. I'm sure Margaret will appreciate these too. Thank you."

"And…I have something for you too." BJ kind of stumbled over, "You may remember what I gave you and Margaret for your wedding present…the minor major out…fit. Well, when I picked up those doctor kits for Erin and your twins, I picked up another uniform. This way, only _one_ of your kids will outrank you!"

The rather drunk man handed his best friend a little box that he opened. It was exactly like the one with the gold embroidered major's clusters, but had silver embroidered captain's bars instead. Hawkeye laughed, "Thanks Beej, the twins'll look pretty good in these."

"Better than we do!" Klinger threw in.

The party had pretty much resumed in the background and didn't end until about two o'clock in the morning. Seeing as how it was standing room only, there wasn't really any room to sit. So Potter, Klinger, Mulcahy, Winchester, BJ, Radar, and Hawkeye all stood around, nursing their drinks and talking about memories at the 4077th or about what they wanted to do when they got home. Hawkeye was becoming more and more anxious about the flight home. He just couldn't wait to see his family, yet still had that worried feeling in the pit of his stomach. He hadn't seen his dad in almost three years, his wife in about six long months and he just couldn't wait to see his kids. He still couldn't get used to that…_his_ kids.

Getting another olive out with his fork, the brand new father laughed along with everyone else, even though the butterflies in his stomach were growing to the size of vultures. The clock wouldn't move fast enough until he got back to the great ole' 48 states.

**9:00 A.M.**

Hawkeye may have been up for all hours of the night, partying with his buddies and celebrating his last night in hell, but without the hangover to sleep off, he was up and at 'em pretty early. He had been up for about three hours, packing, repacking, checking to make sure he had everything over and over again, and pacing in the compound, wanting time to go by faster…just for today.

His letters and pictures were stuffed carefully in his pocket, only having been out of his sight for as long as it took him to take a nice, warm shower. Getting up early _did_ have its perks. The mountain air in the morning felt refreshing, but just knowing that he would soon be smelling the sweet, salty sea breeze on the shore of Maine, made him all the more excited to start heading home.

When pacing got too boring for the leaving doctor, he decided to head back in the Swamp to make sure, for the third time, that he had everything ready to go. He was wearing his favored red robe…check. His class A's were on his old cot, ready to be warn for Hawkeye's return stateside…check. The gifts he had received, along with all of his clothes, were in his footlocker or the big, cardboard boxes they came in. His tuxedo was in his suitcase, as neatly folded as he could get it, even though it really shouldn't have been folded in the first place. His cowboy hat was on his head at the moment, but had a spot reserved in its owner's duffle bag…check, check, check, and check. All of his small odds and ends were rounded up and put in his duffle bag already. He was ready to go, except for a small 'costume change', but the Jeep wouldn't be there until noon.

Reaching down to open his footlocker, Hawkeye wanted to make sure Margaret's hat was packed, safe and sound. He let out a sigh of relief when the object that had given him so much comfort in the past six months sat in the top box compartment in the wooden piece of luggage. The gold cluster on the olive drab fabric was shining when the ray of sun came in through the screen of the tent.

The generally noisy packer was really trying to be quiet for his friends that were probably hoping to sleep off enormous hangovers. Unfortunately though, when Hawkeye reached over to the small shelf where he kept some unimportant trinkets, the lid to the footlocker slipped, slamming shut with a loud, gunshot-like bang.

Charles jumped a little, but BJ just groaned and mumbled something unintelligible. He rolled over in his tiny cot, pulling his sheet up back over his head. The man on the other side of the tent, however, was now fully awake and had a splitting headache. "Pierce, what are you doing? Trying to wake the dead?!"

"Sorry, just repacking again…"

It was now the Bostonian's turn to groan, "Yes, we're excited for you, but if you _must_ re-pack your things several times…do it QUIETLY!"

BJ just sat up, obviously deciding that getting more sleep would be impossible. A disgusted look crossed his face, "Did I swallow a tennis ball last night?"

"Nope, just kicked back a few dozen drinks." Hawkeye joked good naturedly at his best friend's expense.

"Maybe I should practice what I preach…" Winchester rubbed his temples, "Anyone have an Aspirin?"

BJ reached under his cot to get his hangover shades, "Make it a double…"

**11:45 A.M. **

"So what do the last fifteen minutes of being in this hell feel like?" Klinger asked the parting surgeon.

"Great." Hawkeye's smile proved his answer, "I wish I could take everyone with me."

"I wish you could too!" The big-nosed Lebanese man was helping to haul all of his friend's luggage to the front of the main office.

In the past three years, Hawkeye had really accumulated a lot. Of course, all of the things that everyone had given him to take home to his wife and kids took up a lot of room in the pile they had made, but he really _was_ taking home a lot more than what he had _left _home with. Hopefully it would all fit in the Jeep that was coming to pick him up. Hawkeye looked down at his watch to see that he was now only about thirteen minutes away from a Jeep ride to Seoul.

All of his things were soon by the main office in the pile, and he was standing in his class A's. He had said goodbye to all of the nurses in the mess tent after lunch, and not in the way he thought he would when he first got to the 4077th. There were friendly hugs and warm smiles. Even from Emma Casey, who had almost _changed _in the last 24 hours and had, last night, partied with her nurses, having a good time after her shift in Post-Op.

Most of the corpsman had said their farewells to the chief surgeon while his bags were being taken to the office. Now, the only people he really had to say goodbye to were his close friends. And that would be hard…

Breaking the awkward silence, Hawkeye dug in the pocket of his class A's as if he just remembered something, "Hey Klinger, did you get that telegram made yet?"

Klinger pulled a white envelope out of his breast pocket, "Sure did, Captain. Sorry it took so long, but it was a son of a gun trying to get it to look like it was from I Corps."

"That's alright. This looks great." The man inspected the fake telegram in his hands, "You don't think this'll be too mean, do you?"

"Naw, what you had me write in there was pretty sweet. I'm sure she'll like it."

"I just hope Margaret doesn't figure out what's happening before she reads it. I want this all to be a surprise for her." The new father and anxious husband was beaming as he put the letter in the pocket of his class A's. The same one where his discharge papers were, along with his ticket stateside.

Before either of them could say anything else, BJ came running up behind him. "Hey Hawk, you missed something." He handed Hawkeye one of the pictures that Margaret had sent him. "It was under your cot. I almost missed it, myself."

A smile spread across Hawkeye's face, "Thanks Beej. I wouldn't want to lose this picture…" His eyes grew soft, looking at the snapshot of Margaret in the park, leaning up against a tree in her denim skirt and flowing white shirt. Hawkeye started laughing a little and shaking his head in disbelief, "The last time I saw this picture I thought we were just having one…"

Colonel Potter and Charles came out of Post-Op and joined the group. "Quite a pile there, son." Sherman remarked, nodding toward his 'son-in-law's' belongings. "Got everything?"

"All but the kitchen sink," Hawkeye quipped. The small group talked for a few minutes after Father Mulcahy and Radar joined in. The increasingly eager captain checked his watch again. If the Jeep driver was going to be on time, he had about five more minutes. "Looks like my time's almost up…" he said quietly. He was ecstatically happy to be leaving, but he couldn't help the lump that formed in his throat.

No one could really believe that time had flown by so fast, so everyone checked their watches at the same time. Hawkeye just laughed at their synchronization while they all stood around, no one wanting to be the first to say goodbye. Finally Radar decided to take the first farewell.

Adjusting his wool cap nervously, Radar cleared his throat. He wasn't nervous because of who he was talking to. He was nervous because he had something important to say to the man in front of him, and didn't want to sound stupid or, even worse, let his emotions get away from him. "Hawkeye, you've been like a big brother to me." The young man cleared his throat again, trying to hide the fact that he, too, had a lump in his throat, "I mean, my little brother died when he was really young and my older brother is about twenty years older than me so he was never around. Then dad died when I was so little. I never really had anyone that would teach me the things you have. I mean, you've pretty much taught me how to be a man myself. You've helped me with girls and…um…manly problems. So uh….thanks Hawkeye."

"Hey, don't worry about it Radar. I'm glad I could help." Hawkeye was truly touched by what his 'little brother' had just said. He lowered his voice, "Just remember, keep dry and plenty of talcum." His eyes were doing the laughing for him.

"Hawkeye!" The young corporal blushed a little. When he recovered, he reached into his bag and pulled out his teddy bear, "I don't need this anymore. Like I said, I'm more of a man now because of all the things you've taught me…and I need to use those things. I'm a man now, I'm not that teenager that I came here as. I want you to take it…it's the only thing my older brother ever gave me. This little bit of fabric and stuffing has been my best friend for a long time, but I'm a _man_ now and don't need it. But everyone needs a friend as good as this has been for me, so…I'd like you to take it for the twins. Sorry there's not another one, but maybe they'll be able to share him."

"I'm sure they'll be able to," Hawkeye nodded, his voice a little husky from what Radar was doing. He accepted the bear and held his hand out and Radar shook it, "You're a good kid Radar…a good _man_."

The short company clerk nodded in thanks, "See ya later Hawk…and you better hurry, I think I hear the Jeep."

Hawkeye just chuckled, "Bye Radar."

Klinger had his fists in his pockets and a wide, yet sad smile on his face. He walked over toward the leaving captain, "Well, so long you lucky little…you know what."

Hawkeye just laughed and nodded, "Yep, I know what… So long Klinger. I hope you get outta here soon too."

"Yeah, me too." Klinger smiled, "This place won't be the same without you. I hope the new surgeon will be just as much of a jokester as you are." The two men shook hands, "So long Captain."

Charles was next, "You know…I can't believe I'm saying this, but I would have to agree with everything that Max just said." The normally pompous 'buffoon' extended his hand out to Hawkeye who then returned the gesture, "I can't wait until this ludicrous war is over so I can meet the little ones…and see first hand how much you've corrupted them with your ill humor by then." There was a twinkle in Winchester's eyes that let the other man know he was only kidding.

"You can count on that." Hawkeye sniggered a little, "See ya Chuckles." The other man just laughed as he returned to where he was standing earlier, leaning up against the permanent structure that was the main building.

Father Mulcahy smiled his, almost _shy _smile, and his eyes twinkling the way only his eyes could, "So long Hawkeye."

"Goodbye Father. Keep up the great work you do here. I just hope you won't have to give too many last rights." Hawkeye's smile showed a mix of emotions. There was happiness, yet sadness at the thought of the last rights. The thought of _more_ men dieing.

"Amen to that." The priest nodded, "Bless you Hawkeye. And have a safe trip home. And good luck with Margaret and the twins."

"Thanks Padre."

Colonel Potter and BJ were the only ones left who needed to say goodbye. They just stood silently for a moment before Colonel Potter decided that BJ should probably go last. "Well, Pierce… You get home and be the best damn father you can be to my honorary grandkids and be the best damn husband to that little soldier of yours too. Just remember, I can be one tough father-in-law." Like everyone else's, the C.O.'s voice was hoarse from the emotion of having a good friend leave and his eyes seemed to be rather moist. "You've left your mark here and we'll have a hard time adjusting to you being gone, but we'll manage. You need your family. And they need you."

"I couldn't have said it better myself, Colonel." The brand new dad was so grateful for the man in front of him. If it hadn't been for him, he would probably have to stay for the rest of the war and miss out on seeing even _more_ of his twins' lives. He had done so much for him and his family, practically adopting Margaret as his daughter and their children as his grandchildren. He was already taking on the roll of being a spoiling grandfather, seeing as how he had given Hawkeye so much money, for a crib to match the other one. The colonel knew it didn't cost that much for a crib, but just wanted to contribute to help his 'grandchildren'. Colonel Potter was truly an amazing man, and Hawkeye needed for that to be said, "Colonel, thanks again for the money and…the discharge and…everything sir. Thank you so much. I don't know where Margaret and I might be if you hadn't been here."

"Well, you're welcome, but what else is family for?" A lone tear rolled down the old Colonel's cheek that he tried to wipe away before it was noticed. His voice cracked when he said his adieu, "Goodbye son." Like they had the night before after he gave Hawkeye the money, Potter had grabbed Hawkeye's hand that would have normally just been shook, and brought him in for a friendly hug.

Just before Hawk and BJ said something to each other, the Jeep drove into the compound. Radar was right. Like he had done when Margaret was saying goodbye, Colonel Potter went over to the driver and asked him for at least five more minutes.

"Well, tell Peg and Erin I said I love them." BJ just stood awkwardly, not wanting to say goodbye to his best friend.

Hawkeye picked up on what the other surgeon was doing, "Listen…I know you don't like to say goodbye. And neither do I. It sounds so…permanent. Well, seeing as how I want all of my friends to meet Allie and Mikey, I know we'll see each other again. You can't go forever without seeing your best friend."

"Well, I'd like Erin to get to know her uncle and her little cousins too, so I guess we'll have to see a lot of each other after the war." BJ tried to make it sound dreadful, but the way he was grinning, everyone knew he'd enjoy the excuse to be with his best friend and 'partner in crime'.

"Right. And it sounds like Margaret and Peg won't want to spend too much time apart from each other too." Hawkeye glanced over at the Jeep. Klinger and Radar were working on getting everything packed in, but the driver looked a bit like he was in a hurry.

The big-footed man noticed too, but he had one more thing to say, "You've made this hell a lot more…fun. I can't believe I'm saying that anything about this place could be fun, but you made it so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I'm glad I found you here. I can't imagine what it would have been like if you weren't here. You helped me get through being away from Peg and Erin."

Hawkeye laughed inwardly and nodded, "I heard all this last night when you bought me that Wagon Hopper's martini…but thanks. I don't mind hearing it again. But you've helped me get through the time I've had to spend away from Margaret. I'm very thankful for that."

"Just happy I could return the favor." It was a good thing that BJ had his 'hangover glasses' on because they also covered the fact that his eyes were becoming rather moist. Of course Hawkeye's were too. "I won't say goodbye, but I _will_ say that I'll see you later."

"I can live with that." The two men embraced for a moment before Hawkeye picked up his suitcase and his class A hat that was on top of it. Putting the hat on, he smiled to the group, "So long everybody," he turned around and headed for the Jeep. Klinger and Radar had returned to the group and now joined the others in waving to their departing friend.

After plopping his suitcase on top of all of his other things in the back of the Jeep, Hawkeye took his seat in the front of the Jeep and waved back to his friends. The Jeep started and he was off, finally leaving the 4077th behind, forever. But he wouldn't be leaving his friends forever. Something he wanted more than anything, was for his kids to get to know the people that had become his family in the last three years. The people that had seen him at his best, and at his worst. The people that, like Margaret, understood him better than anyone else he had ever known. But most of all, he couldn't wait to get back to the woman he had met there. The woman that he would have the best years of his life with, the one he would spend forever with. And now, he was on his way there.

**Okay, so I said that there would be Hawkeye's flight home in this chapter as well, but as I got to writing, I realized that there was so much in this chapter I needed to include that there would just be no room for it in this one. So, I promise it'll be in the next chapter! I really hoped you liked this one though, and I hope you don't mind how the goodbyes went. Oh, one more thing! Happy Easter!**

**THANKS FOR READING! Feel free to review! ;-D**


	28. Tokyo to San Francisco

_Author's Note: Hi all! Glad you liked the previous chapter! I didn't exactly end that at the place I wanted, so I guess that's where we'll begin here. Thanks again for all of your great reviews. They mean a lot! Oh, and for the part in the plane, could you tell I'm excited about getting a dog! Hehe, that I now have! =] Mine's MUCH smaller than the German Sheppard though. I also realized that I really have the dates mixed up…it really should have been maybe five and a half months since Hawkeye and Margaret had seen each other. (CLOSE to six, but not six) I'm sorry…I think this is why I'm only getting a B in Algebra II… :-[ Sorry again…but there's more math involved with this chapter because of time zones! GAH! Bear with me, please! ;-P But, here we go!_

**Chapter 28**

**Kimpo Air Base - Seoul**

After showing all of his travel orders, discharge papers, military I.D., passport, and anything else the guy behind the counter was asking for, Hawkeye took a seat on a wooden bench across the room. The waiting area for those soon boarding the planes was a tiny little building made out of the same corrugated metal as the Officer's Club back at the 4077th. It was much less decorative, however, since the only stuff on the walls were departure times for the airplanes, a couple battle maps of Korea , and a small menu that hung above the closed concession stand.

Hawkeye took his hat off and set it on his suitcase. He decided he could entertain himself for the twenty minutes he'd have to wait, so he pulled out the picture of his family that was in his pocket. The same smile that spread across his face every time he saw the picture, returned when he saw his dad, Margaret, and his new son and daughter. The new father couldn't get over the look on his wife's face. It was even more beautiful than he remembered, if that was possible. The snapshot may have been in black and white, but he could tell his wife was just glowing. From what he could see, motherhood was suiting her perfectly.

Gazing at the picture kept him entertained for about five minutes. It would have for longer, since he could look at it forever, but every time he thought about all the wonderful things that he would be able to do with his family in the future, his stomach twisted into knots. He was thinking of Henry again. Try as he might, he couldn't get the thought out of his mind. He had made the flight to Tokyo a few times, and it was a scary flight for him after Henry had died, but now it was even worse because he had a family. A family that he'd give anything to be with, including his medical career and whatever else he had!

Instead, he decided to leave his stuff by the bench since there was no one else in the small building, and take a walk around the base. Just a short one, long enough to keep him busy until the passengers, however many there actually were, would be boarding the plane.

It was amazing how much better everything seemed now that he was out of the Army. Of course, he wouldn't really _feel_ like he was out of the Army until he set foot on the front porch of 1412 Rock Point Lane. The birds were chirping, dogs were barking, and the sound of Jeeps rolling by no longer really sounded ominous. Now, it just sounded like a car driving on a gravel road. He was lost in his thoughts about civilian life again until a chopper flew overhead. Out of the Army or not, that sound meant the same thing: wounded. The chopper kept flying over the air base, heading for the same direction that Hawkeye had just come from. An involuntary shiver rand down the surgeon's spine, thinking of another 23 hour O.R. session.

"Sir?" A lieutenant that looked maybe thirteen because of his baby face, called out to the _former_ captain.

It was as if his heart fell to his feet. Hawkeye had heard stories of people being discharged and then called up for more duty in the service before they had the chance to leave the war zone. "What is it Lieutenant?" He asked, a little harsher than he meant to and instantly felt guilty when the young man seemed to recoil a bit. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little anxious for the flight."

The young, brown haired, hazel eyed boy seemed to recover fast, "Oh, it's fine sir. I know how you feel. Actually, that's what I came to talk to you about. My C.O. put you on a different plane. The one you were gonna take originally had some engine trouble and has to stay in the shop for a while."

"Oh nice," a small wave of nausea passed through the man's stomach, thinking of what could have happened.

"Yeah, but we were able to get you on a cargo plane headed to Tokyo. Don't mind riding next to a German Shepherd, do you?"

The man in his class A's laughed, "Of course not, a dog's gotta be better than some of the other characters you find on a plane. Not so strange."

The young man laughed, "Very true." He nodded toward the building that Hawkeye had just left, "I got a sergeant putting your things on the plane now. It leaves in five minutes."

"Hey that's great!" There was excitement, with a little bit of hesitation, in the man's voice. "But uh…before I go…can you tell me where the latrine is?"

The obviously easy going Lieutenant chuckled and pointed toward a small tent, "Over there sir."

"Thanks kid!"

**Somewhere Above South Korea - About a Half Hour After Takeoff **

It was a small cargo plane with only the pilot, Hawkeye, and a few crates full of supplies. There weren't any seats except for the pilot's, so the man that really kind of felt like a stowaway sat by what he now figured out to be a big cage. He had been so worried about flying over the Sea of Japan that his mind had been elsewhere.

"Well hello there." The brown and black dog put his paw up on the cage door, his wet nose sticking out of one of the wholes just a little bit. He was whining a little in a way that made Hawkeye feel sorry for the creature, being stuck in the little cage. "How ya doin' buddy?" Hawkeye cautiously touched the paw. "Looks kinda tight in there." A big, flat, pink tongue emerged from under the black nose and the eyes became visible. They were soft brown and looked happy. "You're a beauty, aren't ya?" A little yip came from the cage. The man just laughed, reaching into his pocket. "I was planning on saving these for later, but you look like you could use a pick-me-up. Do you like olives?" After another happy bark, the doctor took a few olives out of the jar and fed them to dog.

"You can take him out of the cage!" The pilot yelled back, wanting to be heard over the loud engine and wind, "He won't bite! He's a good dog!"

"He yours?!" Hawkeye called back.

"Yep! Had him for a couple years! I keep him in the cage if there's anyone else in the plane, but it looks like he's found a new friend! He loves people with food!"

"Smart dog!" The object of the dog's full attention at the moment called up to the pilot. He turned toward the cage, "You want out of there, Bud?" There was more pawing at the cage door while Hawkeye tried to figure out the latch. When he finally did, the big brown and black fur ball came bouncing out, used to the turbulence the plane was going through for the time being.

There were a couple happy woofs from the big dog. Hawkeye just laughed and started petting the dog behind the ears. "What's his name?!"

"Brutis!" The man at the controls answered, "Named him after my kids' dog!"

At the thought of kids, Hawkeye's mind traveled. He must have stopped rubbing the dogs ears too, because he felt a cold, wet nose on his palm and had two big brown eyes were looking up at him. "Sorry," He chuckled while resuming his previous task. "I'd love to get my kids a dog when they're older!" He was now talking to the pilot again, "I never had one as a kid, but I've always thought they'd make a great friend!"

"That they really do!" The aviator replied, "You married?"

"Yeah! For almost six months now! I'm finally gonna see her again!" Hawkeye's smile again depicted just how excited he was about the whole ordeal.

"I take it you haven't been in Korea for long?!"

"Been here almost three years, actually! Met my wife at the MASH I was stationed at! She was head nurse, I was chief surgeon!"

"That's one way to spend a war!" The two men laughed a little, "How long she been stateside?!"

There was a twinge at the surgeon's heart, thinking of his reply, "She left Korea about a week after we got married!"

"That had to be rough!" The older man looked sincere.

"Tell me about it!" The passenger shook his head, "Hardest thing I've ever been through, having to be stuck in this hell when our kids were born. I've been a father for about two weeks and didn't even know it!"

"Did you say kids as in more than one?!"

"Yeah! Twins, totally a surprise! Especially for my wife!" Hawkeye laughed.

"Well congratulations! I sure am sorry you had to miss that! I got two kids myself! Glenda's 16 and Jeffrey's 18! Enjoy your little ones while they're still little! They grow up fast, trust me!"

The dog's current backscratcher laughed, "I sure will!" He kept petting the dog down the back now. When he stopped, Brutis started whining, cocked his head to the side, and gave the same big brown eyes. "You're just like my wife, you know that? Quit rubbing her back and she looks at me like I'm stupid," Hawkeye sighed "God, I miss that look." The German Shepherd made an agreeing growl, "Fine, I'll keep going, Beautiful." Another small snarl, "Oops, sorry. I guess that's handsome." The dog just panted happily, grateful for the on-flight massage.

**Later - Over the Sea of Japan**

About an hour had passed, and the human cargo was still rather nervous. It was just a good thing he had a conversation going with the man at the cockpit and plenty of company from the dog he was petting. There was a lot of truth behind what he had said earlier about a dog being a great flight companion.

Judging by the fact that _everything_ was either blue or gray outside the windows of the small plane, he assumed correctly that they were over the Sea of Japan. He was so excited to go home that his claustrophobia wasn't bothering him so bad, but the fact that he was in the general area where one of his closest friends had died, was making him very uneasy. His stomach tightened with worry and his head started spinning a bit.

Pulling out the picture of his family again, he kissed his finger and lightly touched his wife's black and white smile. "I love you," he whispered, gazing longingly at the snapshot. He leaned his head back on the wall and Brutis laid his big fuzzy head on his new friend's lap and got scratched behind the ears some more. Before Hawkeye fell asleep anyway.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_There was a gentle breeze that smelt like the ocean mixed with lilacs and vanilla, Hawkeye's favorite smell. He took in a deep breath, thoroughly enjoying the beautiful Spring day. A soft hand ran through his hair, and looking to the side, he saw one of the most beautiful things he'd ever laid his eyes on._

_Margaret was smiling up at him, her beautiful blue eyes sparkling. Her hair, still blonde, was blowing behind her shoulders, shining in the sunlight. Hawkeye held her close, dipped her low, and kissed her passionately._

"_Yucky!" A little girl's voice called from the backyard. She was laughing, but still trying to feign a disgusted look._

"_Eww! You're right!" A little boy with shaggy red hair ran over to his sister. "They're icky!" Just like the little girl beside him, he was laughing too much to look too grossed out._

_The two on the porch were laughing, their lips still entwined with each other's. "Love you," Hawkeye mumbled quickly, yet passionately, before ending the kiss and running down the stairs toward his laughing children. "Yucky?!" He called, a big playful smile on his face. "Whose calling me yucky?!"_

"_We weren't calling JUST you yucky! Mommy was being yucky too!" The little girl giggled._

_He was trying his best to look offended, but just started laughing. The Hawk 'swooped down' and scooped his kids up, one under each arm, "You're BOTH calling Mommy and me yucky?!" There was more whole hearted laughter from the dad in the middle and ecstatic giggling from both of the small kids. Hawkeye was able to look up at the porch to see his wife in a state of hysterics._

_The kids both squealed with laughter, "Daddy! Put me down!" The little girl giggled._

"_No way! You called me yucky!" Hawkeye was laughing as much as his kids were, "That's gonna cost ya!"_

"_I didn't call you yucky, Daddy!" The little redhead laughed, the same smile on his face as the one Margaret had when she was trying to pull the wool over someone's eyes._

"_You did too!" Allie called across her daddy to her twin._

"_I guess the tickle monster will just have to get you both!" The 'tickle monster' managed to get his squirming four-year-olds safely on the ground before they ran away. "Keep running!" Their father ran after them, trying to keep up. When he finally caught up, everyone was too worn out to do much, so they all ended up laying on the grass beneath a huge pine tree. Well, _Hawkeye_ was worn out…_

_Alicia and Mikey sprang up from where they were on either side of their daddy. "Now whose the tickle monster!" Mikey giggled and started to tickle his father behind the neck. Allie joined in, laying across her daddy's legs to pull off one of his sandals to tickle his foot._

_Hawkeye laughed, "Margaret! Help! Your children are attacking!"_

_Margaret was still on the porch, laughing so hard she had tears running down her face. Daniel opened the back door to see what was going on. Margaret just pointed toward the three when he asked._

"_She trained her kids well Hawk! Good luck getting out of that one!" The older version of the man being 'attacked', called out to his son._

_A yellow lab puppy with a red collar and tags jingling, came bounding off the porch and ran toward the three to help the cause. "Over here Radar!" The puppy's 'kids' beckoned him over._

"_No! Not the puppy!" Hawkeye laughed as the little dog jumped up on his chest and started licking his face._

"_Kennel up, Bud!" Daniel called. "Kennel up!" he called again…_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Kennel up Brutis!" The pilot called back to his dog.

Hawkeye woke up to a soft woof as the dog, much bigger than the one in his dream, went to his cage and laid down.

"Morning!" the aviator smirked. "We're about to land! You mind shutting his cage?!"

"Not at all!" Hawkeye leaned over and had to try to figure out how to _close_ the latch this time. After petting the dogs paw through the metal, he went back to where he was and braced himself for the _hopefully_ smooth landing.

As the plane landed in the expected way, Hawkeye just kept his eyes closed. He had made it past the area where Henry had died, but that didn't mean something couldn't happen on the way down. The best part of the flight though was when the plane finally stopped on the runway. He could finally relax since he had just made his final trip over the Sea of Japan. Now he just had two more flights and an eight hour bus ride to look forward to.

"Hey, thanks a lot." Hawkeye held out his hand for the pilot to shake after they made their way to the airport waiting area.

"No problem. My pleasure. Brutis's too." The older man winked, "Here, you might want this." The old aviator reached into his pocket and pulled out a lint brush.

Looking down, Hawkeye noticed that he was covered with medium length brown and black dog hair. He laughed and accepted the offer. After all the stray hairs were brushed away, he returned the brush, "Thanks again. And tell Brutis I'm sorry he doesn't have a stewardess poodle on his flight."

"Sure thing, you just get back to the states and enjoy those little ones of yours."

"Will do." Hawkeye chuckled and nodded his farewell before heading to the information desk of the much nicer airport than the one at Kimpo. One more step closer to home…

**9:00 P.M. in Korea (5:00 A.M. in San Francisco)**

Hawkeye was somewhere between Tokyo and San Francisco, but didn't know which time zone he was in exactly. His watch was still set to Korean time, and he didn't know when exactly he'd change it. He thought about keeping it set to the time he had grown so used to, at least for awhile or until the war was over, as a reminder of sorts for his friends still being in that hell he had just left. The former MASH surgeon felt so guilty for being able to leave, and for reasons beyond anything he could explain, he just couldn't even think about changing his watch any time soon…

The flight from Tokyo to San Francisco was going on and on and on. Now Hawkeye wasn't _as_ nervous, but he was still plenty worried about getting home safely. He was so close to being completely done with the Army for good that he didn't want anything to screw it up. Outside, where the plane was above the clouds, the sky was the most beautiful mixture of periwinkle and pink. Closing his eyes, Hawkeye could just see himself on the beach with Margaret and the twins in a few years, watching the sun set over the ocean with his family. Almost everything he did or saw anymore made him think of his family.

Yet again, he pulled the picture out of his pocket and just gazed at it for awhile…now that he was past the Sea of Japan, he could look at it with happier butterflies fluttering around in his stomach instead of the worried vultures that had been circling. The whirring of the wind outside the plane slowly lulled Hawkeye to sleep, which was a good thing since he was getting kind of overwhelmed with thoughts and ideas. He had already gone through the mental checklist of his countless times, figuring out what all he needed to do in the next few days. Sleeping would also be a good way to pass a few more hours of the sixteen hour flight. It was just a good thing that he didn't have one of those 'strange' people in the next seat over.

**Later (1:00 A.M. in Korea / 9:00 A.M. in San Francisco)**

Hawkeye woke up about five hours later. The lack of sleep in the past few days was quickly catching up with him, along with the expected jet lag. Now, he thankfully only had about four hours left of this flight since he had been on the plane for a little over twelve. Reaching into the bag he was able to take on the flight, he grabbed all off Margaret's and his dad's letters and reread almost every one of them. He laughed, teared up a little at some, felt a tiny bit of anger from a few of the earliest ones, and thoroughly enjoyed all of them.

For the past three years since he'd been home, the only constant communication to his loved ones had been through the letters. Sure, there were the phones, but they weren't always accessible. Who knew that something as small as familiar handwriting could bring such joy to a person. Something written in his wife's handwriting in the last five and a half months could bring different emotions and feelings as something written in his father's. Margaret's seemed to bring him a rainbow of different emotions. There was love, longing, heartache, fear, and pure joy connected to their pages…connected to their words.

**Three and a Half Hours Later (4:30 A.M. in Korea / 1:30 P.M. in San Francisco)**

A short brunette in the blue and grey stewardess uniform went to the front row of passengers and went through the whole 'Please buckle your seatbelts' speech. Hawkeye did all he was supposed to and buckled his seatbelt and put the tray that attached to the seat ahead of him up. He closed his jar of olives and put them back in his bag, and did the same with the letters he was still reading.

Taking a deep breath, he looked out the window to see land…American land. To some, it could look the same as any land in the world, but to Hawkeye it was the way it was supposed to be. He had nothing against other countries, they were just filled with people like him, but he was so glad to be back in the good ole' U.S. of A. He was home…even though his actual home was still clear across the country. A huge grin covered his face when he whispered to himself, "I've made it a long way. California now…Maine later."

The pilot's voice came through he PA system, "Flight 482 from Tokyo to San Francisco will be landing shortly. We've had a smooth flight, so we will be landing a little earlier than expected. We hope you have all enjoyed your time and thank you for flying Tokyo - American Transport."

It took about fifteen minutes for the plane to land, but when it did, Hawkeye really felt different. It was as if he had left the states naïve, but returned aware of the way the world, outside his own little bit of it, worked. He never realized how great he had it until he was forced overseas to experience a culture that was like the polar opposite to his…and he was even living a _better_ life than most of the people in Korea. Sure, the tents and facilities of the 4077th were horrible compared to home, but still a _lot_ better than most of what the natives had. He'd try to never complain about how things at home could be again…

The stairs were rolled over and in place before the doors were opened. After unhooking his seatbelt, Hawkeye grabbed his bag from the seat beside him, made sure everything was in it, reached up to get a couple more bags from the storage compartment above the window, and waited for the line of people to pass by. Most of the passengers leaving the plane were service men and women in class A's or the normal olive drab garb. As they passed, the surgeon could have sworn he saw a few of his patients from the 4077th. He never thought he'd _really_ be able to remember all of the people he operated on, but some could stand out.

"Doctor Pierce?" A young man in the normal, olive drab Army uniform stood in front of him on crutches.

"That's who I was when I woke up this morning…or yesterday morning…" He became momentarily side tracked, trying to figure out just how long he'd been traveling. He shook his head to get rid of the cob webs and smiled, "Yeah, that's me."

"Corporal Chad Landins, four months ago." He looked down at his leg, "Almost lost my leg, but the doctors in Tokyo said I was able to keep it because of you."

Hawkeye shrugged nonchalantly, "It was the least I could do." He shook the man's outstretched hand.

"Well, I really appreciate it. They transferred me from the 4077th to the 121st Evac. hospital while you were at the aid station, so I never got to say thank you."

"I'm just glad I could help." Noticing that the man was struggling with a bag, the doctor put one of his own down, "Need some help with that? Looks like your hands are full."

"Oh, I can manage, you have yours full too."

"Nonsense, I got it." Hawkeye just smiled, and took the corporal's bag and his, "No problem."

"I really appreciate it, but are you sure you got it all? I can take it, really." The young man seemed almost embarrassed to have someone help him.

The father of twins laughed, "Hey, it's fine. I have to get used to having my hands full anyway!" The two men started walking out of the plane, "So how long are you on the crutches?"

"Sounds like I can get off 'em next month if I keep up the physical therapy."

"That's great!" It was a good thing that they were at the end of the line of people getting off the plane since they had to take the stairs pretty slow to accommodate Landins' crutches. "So where's home for ya?"

"Fostoria. Tiny town in northwest Iowa, doubt you've ever heard of it." The captain could see the way that the other returning soldier's eyes were sparkling when he talked about his hometown.

"Can't say that I have, but I know how you feel. I come from a tiny town in Maine. Can't wait to get back, that's for sure."

"So you got another long flight ahead of you?" Hawkeye nodded, "Leaving again right away?" Landin asked. They were at the bottom of the stairs and making their way to the runway entrance of the rather huge airport.

Hawkeye just realized how hungry he was, "Nope, I'm gonna stay and have lunch with my best friend's family. My plane doesn't leave for a couple hours. I guess they're gonna be meeting me here." When they made it do the big glass doors, Chad managed to get the door open for the doctor who was carrying his bag along with all his own stuff.

"Well, I got it from here." The young man was able to get his duffle bag on his back, "Thanks a lot, Doc. I really appreciate it." He chuckled, "The bag _and_ my leg."

"No problem, I'm always ready to help. Good luck."

"You too!" The young man smiled and was on his way through the crowd of people to get to his other flight. Hawkeye watched him hobble away on his crutches, wishing he could have done more for the man's leg when he operated on it. The more he thought about it, he could almost remember the exact operation. He had to do an arterial transplant and the stupid clamp wouldn't hold again… But, if the doctors in Tokyo were saying he had saved the leg, he could feel a sense of accomplishment.

He didn't think that Peg and Erin would be at the airport yet since the plane landed early, so the homeward bound soldier made his way over to the luggage caracal and waited for all of his stuff. In Tokyo, he had to get his name and address on each of the boxes and had them wrapped up good. They were marked fragile so he just hoped that everything would still be intact, and was relieved when he found them on the conveyer belt the same way he had put them on in Tokyo. He took the boxes, along with his other suitcase, duffle bag, and footlocker over to the seating area and piled them up.

He had just sat down and started looking through an old magazine when a little voice caught his attention, "Are you Unco' Hawky?" A very young girl with sandy blonde hair and a lot of his best friend's features stood in front of him, her hand holding onto a very nice looking woman that Hawkeye instantly recognized to be Peg Hunnicutt.

"That would be me!" He smiled from ear to ear, "And I'm gonna guess that you're Erin Hunnicutt, right?"

"W'ight!" the little girl spoke proudly in her cute toddler lisp, "An' 'dis is my mommy!" She pulled on her mother's arm.

"Hello Dr. Pierce, its so nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you," the woman held out her free hand.

"Please, call me Hawkeye." He got up and kissed the woman's hand, making her blush.

"That I can do!" She was all smiles, obviously flustered by the charismatic charmer in front of her. "You know, BJ has yet to send me a letter that hasn't mentioned you. I really kind of feel like I've known you for a long time."

Hawkeye smiled, "Well BJ talked about you and Erin a lot too. Read all your letters to me…of course he read them to the whole camp…"

"Oh dear, I hope he edited some parts!" Peg blushed some more.

The man's eyes flashed mischievously, "I _knew_ he was hiding something from me!" He snapped his fingers, pretending to just realize something. At this, Erin giggled at her mom's side. "And you little lady," Hawkeye knelt down to the little girl's height, "look even more beautiful than the pictures that your daddy showed me all the time."

The suddenly bashful child hid behind Peg's leg, "What do you say Erin?" her mother asked.

"Fank you…" Erin was wearing a cute little pink and blue dress with white shoes, her baby fine, shoulder length blonde hair in two pig tails.

"How old are you now?" 'Uncle Hawky' asked.

The little girl came out from hiding and displayed three fingers proudly, "Dis many!"

Peg laughed and put one down, "I think you mean this many, Sweetheart." Erin just giggled some more and went back to her hiding spot. The mother bent down to pick up her daughter before asking, "So, do you want to grab a bite to eat? There's a really great café here."

"I'd love to, I'm starved!" Hawkeye managed to find a cart to haul all of his luggage on, and the three made their way through the busy airport. When they found the café, Erin picked out a table by the window so she could watch the planes, what she called the 'flies'.

After the waitress came around to get their late lunch orders, Hawkeye was watching the little girl vacantly, a small smile on his face. He was thinking about what his kids would be like, now and when they got older. He couldn't wait to meet his kids, but was also a nervous wreck about the next eighteen years or so of helping to _raise _his kids. As soon as he'd start to get confident about being a father in his mind, he'd instantly doubt himself and get a cold, clammy feeling again. It wasn't that he didn't want to be a father, that definitely wasn't the case. It was just…he didn't want to fail his children in any way. He wanted to give them the world, but knew how difficult it would be. He had no doubt in his mind that Margaret would be a wonderful mother, he just doubted how good of a father he would be himself.

Peg noticed that her lunch companion had a very distant look on his face, "Hawkeye?" She asked gently, "You okay?"

This brought the man out of his deep thoughts, "Oh yeah…I'm fine." He rubbed his eyes a bit, "Just a bit tired is all, jet lag's a killer."

"No…I know that look." The young mother shook her head, her eyes growing soft, "I saw BJ with that same look dozens of times when I was expecting Erin." She laughed a little, memories being conjured up, "Not long before he got drafted, I remember waking up one night and finding him sitting at the edge of the bed, totally engrossed in this parenting book that my sister had given me. Which wouldn't have been _that_ bad, except it was geared toward new mothers with things like…um…well….personal things after the baby was born and such, but I remember just laughing when I saw what he was reading and he gave me the same look you had on your face a moment ago.

"He just couldn't keep it bottled up anymore. He said how worried he was about being a father and how he had no idea what kind of a dad he'd be to this little beauty." Peg hugged the little girl on her lap and kissed her cheek. "But I think every father I've ever talked to has gone through that. Just a natural part of being a parent. And trust me, mothers go through it too."

"I don't doubt that in the least," Hawkeye was just amazed how the experienced mother in front of him could divulge what he was feeling, solely based on the look he was making subconsciously. That dumbfounded expression must just be the universal sign, screaming _Look out! New Father Alert!_

Peg had a peaceful look on her face, "From the day a woman finds out she's expecting a baby, she starts having these happy, yet scary, thoughts in the back of her mind." The waitress came back with their drinks and BJ's wife took a sip of her iced tea before continuing, "Margaret and I had a rather lengthy discussion about this a couple weeks ago, after the twins were born."

He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face once again, "Oh yeah?"

Peg nodded, "She was talking about how great of a dad you would be, but how worried _she_ was about being a mother. And then the conversation got to Korea and she said she was awfully scared of taking care of two little babies by herself while her husband was overseas. She said she knew that Daniel would be there to help, but it would just be so hard without you…" The brunette smiled widely, the reddish pink lipstick making her already white teeth seem even whiter, "So when are you gonna tell her you're back in the states?"

"Well, I want our reunion to be really special, you know… We haven't seen each other for over five months and so much has happened that we wanted to be together for. It's been pretty rough on her to be in a new town with new people and then to have two new lives thrown into the equation. So, I really want it to be a surprise. I have to stop in New York City to get all my plans worked out with my dad, but it's gonna kill me to stay away from the hospital… What I'm thinking is that I'll be home for a day or two before Margaret and Dad bring the babies home and that'll leave me plenty of time to get the house ready for everyone."

The woman opposite Hawkeye sighed, "That's so sweet…"

"I hope Margaret thinks so." He just grinned and took a drink of his Coca-Cola, one of the very small things he had missed about being away from home.

"Wook! Wook!" Erin was standing on the other chair looking out the window at one of the planes that was taking off, "It goin' weally fast!"

Peg just laughed and got her daughter to sit down, "Yeah, that plane's going really fast Erin. Suppose a bird could catch up to it?" She looked up at Hawkeye and winked, letting him know that she really _wasn't_ that simple minded.

"No, mommy! A birdie's too swow!" The little girl's pig tales bounced around her shoulders as she shook her head, causing her daddy's best friend to think of Margaret and the way her fine, evidently _not_ natural, blonde hair did that all the time…

_Only a few more days…_ He had to keep telling himself.

About an hour and a half later, the adults' food was gone and Erin was still picking at the last part of her second of two small chicken strips and most of the fries that came in the kids' meal at the airport café. Hawkeye and Peg had been talking about everything from the (still _almost - _in his mind) former captain's time at the 4077th - before and after BJ had been stationed there, Peg getting her real-estate license after having to get the job that her husband was so against, and parenthood. Erin was contently entertaining herself by watching the planes fly by, take off, and land, and swinging her feet from the booster seat she sat in. She was a very bright little two-year-old and joined in on the conversation a couple of times with sweet little comments like, 'My mommy is weally smart' and 'Daddy wites weally funny stories in his wetters that mommy weads to me.' Spending more time around his 'honorary niece' was putting Hawkeye's mind at ease a little bit, and also making him all the more excited to meet Mikey and Allie…as if he could get any _more_ excited.

Hawkeye looked down at his watch and sighed, "Oh man…my flight leaves in about forty-five minutes."

"Unco Hawky gonna weave?" Erin asked, a sad look on her face.

"I'm afraid so, Kiddo." He said it with a reassuring smile, "But not quite yet. When we get to the other side of the airport, I have something for ya!"

"We got somfin' for you too!" The little girl instantly cheered up, "Mommy I'm not hungry any more." She tried to get out of her booster seat herself, but her mom hurried to help her so she wouldn't fall. After she was 'freed', she ran over to Hawkeye, "What did you get me?!"

Hawkeye just laughed, "Well, _I_ didn't get it for you…it's actually from your daddy."

The girl's big green eyes, that she obviously got from her mother, widened with delight, "I get a pwesant from daddy!?"

Peg was almost as excited as her daughter, "That's great!" She turned to Hawkeye, "Can you watch her for a minute? I'll go pay the cashier and we can get to where you need to be."

"I'd be glad to, but I can pay for lunch, Peg." He reached around and was trying to get his wallet out of his back pocket.

"Don't be silly! You're my guest, or rather you would be if this were home, but anywho…_I'm_ buying." There was a stubborn smile on the brunette's face as she stood, hand on hip and foot tapping.

Hawkeye put his wallet back, "Fine, fine…" He put his hands up in exaggerated surrender, "I was taught to never fight with a woman."

Peg just laughed and turned around, heading for the cash register. Her daughter went running back to her honorary uncle, "Unco Hawky?"

"Yeah?" He smiled down at her in expectation.

The little girl put her hands behind her back and cocked her head to the side, "Do you fink you could tell me what my daddy got fo me?"

Laughing, he shook his head, "Then it wouldn't a surprise. I can't do that…your daddy wants you to be surprised when you see what he got for you."

"Pwease?" She tried her best with the puppy dog eyes, "With sugar and a cherwy on top!"

"Extra sprinkles with hot fudge and caramel?" Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Peg coming back to the table so just decided to stall Erin's question.

Now the little girls hands were on her hips, looking _just_ like her mother, "Extwa whipped cweam if you want! Just tell me!" This sent Hawkeye into a whole hearted laughing fit, hearing such a big come-back from a girl that was barely even two. She was definitely BJ's daughter.

"Tell you what?" Peg scooped her up and kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks Hawkeye." He just nodded and the little girl squealed with laughter and seemed to forget what she was so concerned about, and just adjusted herself so she was sitting on her mommy's hip. Hawkeye watched as Peg fixed her daughter's hair with one hand and thought about Margaret. He couldn't wait to see his wife do stuff like that… "We ready?" He was brought out of his musings by his best friend's wife. When everything was set, they were off to the complete opposite end of the airport where all of his luggage would be sorted onto the plane and he'd get to wait and wait for the plane to start boarding. At least he'd have company.

After everything was ready to go and his luggage was checked in and sorted, except for his carry on bag and the box with Erin's present, the two Hunnicutt girls and the Pierce man sat in the crowded seating area. The two year old was looking rather sleepy, leaning on her mom, but kept her eyes on the box by Hawkeye's feet. "So are you gonna open your present, Erin?" The deliverer of the package asked.

This woke her up, "Yeah! Can I Mommy?" She squirmed down to the floor and held onto the box protectively.

Peg just chuckled, "Of course you can, Honey. Do you need help?"

"No, I wanna do it!" she replied, pulling at the bluish-green paper that it had been wrapped in at the Tokyo airport. When the cardboard box was exposed, Hawkeye reached down and helped the toddler get the top flaps open. Only after she asked for some help though. He could remember wanting to be totally independent when he was little, not that he could remember things from when he was _two_, but he could remember how frustrated he'd get when people just started helping without being asked, assuming that their help was needed when it really wasn't. "Fank you!" she looked up at her 'uncle' and back down to the box to pull out the medium black leather bag. "What is it?" She asked, setting it down and scratching her head in question.

"I bet I know!" Peg reached down and opened the clasp and gave an exaggerated gasp, "It's a doctor bag like your daddy's!"

"It is?!" Once again, the little girl's eyes lit up.

Hawkeye chuckled inwardly at the little girl's excitement, "Now you can pretend to be a brave, amazing doctor like your daddy!" He threw in.

"That's right!" Her mother joined in, "You could be like daddy and operate on your teddy bears when they get hurt."

"I could!" Erin carefully took out each plastic medical device to see what it did, with the help and explanations from Hawkeye as to what they were used for. The adults made sure that all the pieces, big enough for a little kid like Erin to play with safely, got put back into the bag so she didn't lose them. "Well that was awfully nice of your daddy, wasn't it Erin?" She just nodded, still a little sleepy. "We'll have to call him later and thank him, won't we?" Peg looked at the man in the seat next to hers, "Thanks for bringing it to her Hawkeye, I think you just made her week."

"Glad to do it," he grinned.

The brunette, in a beautiful white and yellow sun dress, reached into her big matching purse and pulled out a flat, wrapped package and handed it to her daughter, "Why don't you give this to Hawkeye, Sweetheart."

Erin nodded and took it over to her new favorite uncle, "Mommy got dis for you!"

Hawkeye graciously accepted the package from her, "Well thank you! I wonder what it is?"

"Open it!" The pigtailed cutie-pie exclaimed like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I think that might work," he laughed, carefully ripping off the white paper that had little pink and blue pacifiers drawn on it. "Oh hey, this looks familiar." He knew _why_ it looked so familiar and thought it was a great idea.

Peg wanted to explain anyway, "Way back when I sent the other one to BJ to give to Margaret as a baby shower gift, there was only one little Pierce to be expected. So as soon as I found out that there was another one, I searched New York for another baby book like the one you guys already had and finally found this one. I thought that you'd probably like to have separate ones for each of the twins."

"That's really great Peg, thanks!" He leafed through the pages quick, reminding himself of what the other one, that looked exactly like this one, had looked like way back at his wife's going away party. The teddy bears, wearing the Groucho glasses, on the front cover made him laugh.

"Now boarding Flight 984 to New York City!" the intercom blared.

"Well, that's my flight!" The handsome departing surgeon carefully slid the new baby book into his carry on bag and plopped his class A hat back on his head.

"See ya later Hawkeye. Tell Margaret I'm so happy for her when you see her." Peg gave her husband's best friend a friendly goodbye hug, "And good luck."

"Thanks, I will. And I might need that." He hugged her back and when they separated, he knelt down to Erin's level, "You be good for your mommy, okay? Otherwise, your mean uncle Hawky might have to come and talk some good 'ole Crabapple Cove sense into you."

Erin's lower lip quivered a little, "Bye Unco Hawky." She sniffed back a few tears and wrapped her arms around his neck for a quick hug, "Will you come back someday?"

"Well of course I will! And I'll bring _my_ little girl and boy and you'll be able to meet your little cousins. How does that sound?"

The toddler nodded, "That sound good."

"Good," Hawkeye stood up and slung his bag on his shoulder, "I guess I'll see you two lovely ladies sometime in the, hopefully, near future."

A sad, yet hopeful look spread across Peg's face for a moment, "I sure hope BJ's home soon, then we could _all_ get together and have a really great time…"

"It won't be too much longer, Peg." He came back and gave her a reassuring hug, "See ya ladies!" The man waved back at the two as he walked to the door, showed his ticket, ID, and whatever else they asked for.

He was soon able to get on the plane and got situated for the flight clear across the country. Before he knew it, they were up in the air, and he was yet another step closer to being reunited with his loved ones.


	29. Together Again

_Author's Note: Sorry, but I didn't put a closing note at the end of the last chapter! I was just anxious to get updated I guess! :-D But, thanks for all who read and reviewed or just read! It means a lot! I just thought I would mention up here as well that the JFK Airport in NYC was the Idlewild Airport before 1963 and it had been there since 1943. Well, let's get back to the story! And thanks again! Also, there are more time zone factors in the beginning of this chapter, so just bear with me! Thanks!_

**Chapter 29**

**June 12, 1953 - Noon - New York City (June 13, 1953 - 1:00 A.M. in Ouijambu)**

A real bed. A real, _comfortable_ bed. For the first time in almost three years, Hawkeye could sleep in late in a nice, comfortable bed. Sure, compared to his cot at the 4077th, the beds in Seoul and Tokyo were nice, but they were nothing compared to the king sized, down bedspread covered luxury at the Pierre Hotel. The occupant of the room, two floors above where Daniel had been staying for the past three weeks, had just waken up and was now resting comfortably, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about what had taken place much earlier that morning.

The plane had finally landed at around two o'clock in the A.M. at the Idlewild Airport in New York, New York. Hawkeye was able to exchange his military script for U.S. currency, and considering that he was only an eight hour bus ride away from Crabapple Cove, he was in good spirits. But then again, there was the fact that he was a short cab ride's distance away from his family… He wanted so bad for the reunion with his wife to be a special surprise, and it would still be quite the surprise if he just showed up at the hospital, but he really wanted to make the day that Margaret got to take the babies home an even better and even _more_ memorable day.

When all of his luggage was rounded up at the baggage counter, he decided that since he didn't have tickets for the bus ride to Maine already, he could wait until tomorrow and try to get a good night's sleep. When he was able to flag a taxi though, it took all of his will power to refrain from asking to be taken to the Bellevue Hospital. Instead, and after a couple moments to collect his thoughts, he said he needed to get to the Pierre Hotel. It was really the only hotel he knew of in New York City, so he just hoped that there would be a vacant room available for the night.

Luckily, there were a few rooms that were available, and the cash he had with him was enough for one night and a one way bus ticket that they also sold at the hotel's front desk. The bus that was, incredibly making a stop in Crabapple Cove on it's way up to New Brunswick, was scheduled to leave at 3:30 that afternoon.

After a huge yawn, Hawkeye brought his arm out from under the nice, warm covers to look at his watch and was surprised to see how late it was. He sprung out of bed and got ready, really taking in all of the things he used to take for granted like soft carpet when he got out of bed and walked barefoot toward the bathroom, instead of having to be careful for splinters that were in the Swamp floor and the dirt on the way to the latrines. The warm water and great water pressure was a welcomed relief in the shower, and the fresh water for brushing his teeth, instead of what was in his helmet, made him feel much more hygienic.

In the bathroom, the (_still_ almost) former captain was able to get a good look at himself in the floor length mirror. At the 4077th, he was really limited to only an 8x10 image and didn't exactly know how much he had changed while he was serving overseas. He was a lot thinner, that was for sure. Even though he had been able to see his face in that little mirror in Korea, he didn't realize just how much older he looked. The war and countless hours of surgery had taken their toll on him. He could just hope that being home, having normal business hours, and a less stressful environment to be in, would do him good. He didn't really _feel _old, at least not normally. After more than ten hours in O.R., he'd feel extremely stiff, but in normal circumstances, he still felt his young age.

When he was done getting ready in the bathroom, he decided to get dressed since he had just taken off his Class A's when he got to his hotel room and slept in his boxers. Digging through his suitcase, he found his blue and white Hawaiian shirt and a pair of khakis. He really didn't feel like wearing his combat boots, but since his only other shoes, besides the extremely uncomfortable ones that went with his dress uniform, were a pair of shower sandals at the bottom of his footlocker, he decided to just wear the boots for one more day.

Check out at the Pierre was late, and wasn't until four, so he just packed everything up as much as he could, put his Class A's in the same bag as his tuxedo, grabbed the key to the room, and headed down to the main desk. He had been thinking about it all night, and now he had a huge favor to ask.

**Bellevue Hospital - Pediatric Room 11**

The same day that her husband had called from Korea, Margaret was moved to share one of the rooms on the pediatric floor with her twins. Because a lot of the children who were admitted into the pediatric ward of the hospital were from pretty far away, the rooms were more family oriented so a parent could stay with the child. The rooms were decorated more for the kids, and were very cute. White wainscoting went up half of the way on the four walls, and the rest of the way up to the ceiling was painted in thick, warm blue and yellow stripes. One wall had two big windows that looked out over the city, one floor below the maternity ward of the huge hospital, and on the other walls, there were paintings of zoo animals.

Both Allie and Mikey were strong enough to be out of the incubators and were given their own cribs in the room. There was a small couch across from the two cribs and, by the windows, there was a normal twin-sized bed for the mother or father staying there. It was a nice room that seemed more like a hotel suite for little kids than a hospital room.

Margaret was getting used to being a mother and loving every minute of it. Between the babies' check ups, which happened about once every twelve hours to see how they were progressing, their mommy was learning the ropes. Of course, being a nurse, she already knew how to change diapers, bathe the little squirming bundles, feed them, burp them, and how to do all of that stuff. Doing all of that with her _own _little babies was a different story, however. She put much more love into everything she did with them than she ever did with the dozen or so babies that went through the clinic in Crabapple Cove or the Korean babies she had delivered. Those jobs had given her plenty of joy, but with her own son and daughter, it gave her the best feeling in the world.

The bonding she had with both of her babies was amazing. She had never in her life experienced anything like the feeling she had when she was feeding them, changing them, or just cuddling with them. To think that her love for her husband had created two beautiful lives was just incredible. Even at two in the morning when they would start crying because they were hungry, at four when they needed changed, and even at six when all they wanted was to cuddle with their mom. Nothing could ever make Margaret love them less. She already loved the two more than she had ever loved anything before…well, Hawkeye was part of that three way tie for first of course.

Margaret was getting ready to go meet Daniel at the café down the hall. The day after the twins were born, he had gone to the hotel and gathered all of his daughter-in-law's stuff and brought it to the hospital for her. Sure, all of the clothes she had packed were maternity clothes, but they were better than the hospital gowns. When she went into the bathroom to put some make up on, she heard a little whimper coming from one of the cribs. She couldn't help the smile that spread on her face when she heard her daughter, "It's okay Allie, I'm coming." In the last two and a half weeks, she could already tell the difference between her babies' noises.

Reaching into the crib, she carefully picked up her little girl and adjusted the squirming baby so she was snuggling up to her chest. She didn't start crying like it sounded like she would, but rather cooed a little up to her mommy. "There's my little girl," she kissed the tiny nose, "What's the matter sweetheart? I just fed and changed you not too long ago." Another happy little gurgle came from Allie. "You just wanted to see your mommy, didn't you?" Margaret giggled happily, seeing the big blue eyes that were gazing back up at her.

The new mom adjusted her daughter so she was laying with her little head on her shoulder and checked the contents of the other crib. Mikey was sound asleep, his legs and arms squirming around in his sleep. The little boy's mother chuckled and kissed her daughter's cheek, "I have to get ready to go eat lunch with Grandpa. Why don't you join your brother in a little shut-eye?" Her suggestion came a little too late, however. Allie had already fallen fast asleep on her mother's shoulder.

There was a light knock on the door. "Come in." Margaret called quietly as she gently lowered her daughter back into the crib that she had been sleeping in.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Pierce," the small brunette at the door smiled, "Ready for your baby sitter?"

"Annie, how many times do I have to tell you? It's Margaret." She smiled and whispered, "But yeah, I'm almost ready. I went to put on some make up when I got paged again by this little angel."

"So…any updates, Margaret?" Annie asked, a student nurse from NYU who did her clinical practice in the pediatric ward. She was about eighteen, graduated early from high school, took extra college classes on the side, and was really a great girl. At about noon, she'd baby sit for parents who wanted to go get something for lunch.

The experienced nurse had gone back into the bathroom to finish putting on her make up. "I fed them both at about eleven o'clock and changed their diapers about twenty minutes ago. They should be fine for awhile."

"Alrighty then. So this'll be an easy half hour, right?" Annie chuckled quietly.

The mother of the two sleeping babies came back out of the bathroom. Her hair was up in a pony tail and her make up was fixed, as though she really needed it. She wore a pair of her maternity slacks and a pink blouse. Yawning, she reached up and pulled the pony tail a little tighter, "Right," she tip toed over to the cribs and lightly touched the tiny hands of her son and daughter. "You two be good for Annie, alright?" After hesitating for a moment, she headed for the door, "I'll be back soon."

"They'll be okay." The young girl smiled, giving the new mother a sense of reassurance.

She shut the door behind her as quietly as she could and, walking down the hall, managed to say hi to everyone who greeted her. In the past time she had been at the hospital, she had become quite the talk of the floor with her beautiful twins. When she finally got to the end of the colorful hallway, Margaret decided she must have said hello to just about _everybody_ in the ward.

"Hey Maggie!" Daniel got up from where he was sitting in a small booth at the 'café'. In reality, it was just a small concession stand with tables by the big windows. She slid into the booth opposite where her father-in-law was sitting, and greeted him back. "You look tired." Hawkeye's father smiled, his eyes showing just how much he understood the new parent fatigue.

"I am…" Margaret confirmed, "But I really can't say that I mind."

Daniel shook his head, "I never did either when Hawkeye was that age." He took a drink of his coffee, "So what would you like for lunch?"

"Lobster…with butter. And shrimp, and--"

"Anything I can get you _here_?" The grandfather cut in, laughing.

"I'll just have a sandwich," she laughed.

"One lobster and shrimp lunchmeat sandwich on the way." The man across the table winked, "The house wine?"

Margaret laughed, "I'll settle for some water." While her father-in-law went to the food stand, she gazed out the window at the view. Sure, the hustle and bustle of New York City was amusing for awhile, but she really couldn't wait to get back to her peaceful, quiet, town on the coast. After only leaving the building twice to do some baby shopping when Peg was still in town, the normally adventurous lady was getting a case of cabin fever. She _could_ go out as much as she wanted, but she barely made it through lunch or supper without feeling too guilty about being away from her twins.

"Wouldn't you know it, they're out of lobster and shrimp." Daniel returned to the table, carrying a tray of food.

"Quite alright, I'm starving!" She took one of the sandwiches from the tray and unwrapped it hungrily. The roast beef and pepper jack cheese hit the spot. Eating the first few bites slowly to savor her lunch, Margaret realized just how hungry she was.

It was silent for a few minutes since Daniel was pretty hungry as well. Finally, the older man, enjoying a BLT, broke the silence. "So does Randy think we'll be heading back to Maine on Saturday?"

Margaret nodded, a huge smile on her face, "Yep, he stopped by this morning for a check up. Said they were both gonna be more than ready to get home."

"Did he weigh them this morning?" The proud grandfather took another bite of his sandwich.

"Allie's four pounds, eight ounces now and Mikey finally hit four pounds!" Margaret beamed, "Randy said they were the healthiest preemies he's treated in a long time."

"Well, they _are _Pieces," Daniel laughed.

"Doctor Pierce?" An elderly woman that worked at the front desk of the ward was standing behind the booth that the doctor was sitting in.

"That's me," the man in question turned around and smiled his charming Pierce-gentleman smile, "What can I do for you?"

Margaret couldn't help the laugh that escaped. When Daniel turned back around, she blushed a little but was still smiling over the glass of water she was drinking.

"There's a phone call for you from the Pierre Hotel." The woman replied, a little flustered.

Daniel got up, "I'll be back soon." Margaret just waved a little as he followed the grey-haired lady. "So, did they say what they wanted?"

"Not really, Sir. Just said they wanted to talk to a Doctor Daniel Pierce." They walked together toward the front desk.

"Please, it's Daniel." Like his son, he hated being called 'sir'. It made him feel old and it sounded way too formal. This also made the woman giggle, and maybe a little too flirtatiously.

"Here you go…Daniel," She handed the phone to the still handsome man with a little wink when they got to the desk.

He was polite and smiled back at her, "Thank you…" he decided to play along and looked at her name tag on her white uniform, "Marilynn." Another giggle came from the receptionist. Daniel turned his attention to the phone, "Hello?"

"Hello, Doctor Pierce?" A chipper female voice came across the line.

"Yeah, that's me. What's up?" He was getting a little concerned with all the formality.

There was a slight pause, "Well, the maids that clean the ballroom seemed to have found something that we think is yours."

Confused, Daniel replied, "That was three weeks ago…what could have possibly turned up?"

"Not sure, Sir. We just think it's yours."

"Well, it could be possible. We left in a hurry…" He scratched his head, "Will it be there at about 9:30 tonight, when visiting hours end?"

"Uh…" The girl stammered, "No Sir. I'm sorry, but I don't think so. It's kind of important that you come collect from the lost and found soon before it gets stolen…" She didn't sound quite sure of herself, which got Daniel all the more confused.

Daniel tapped his fingers on the desk a little impatiently, "Uh…sure, I'll be there in about twenty minutes."

"Okay, I'll be sure to tell-" she stopped short.

He had been about ready to hang the phone up, but heard the girl's last comment, "Tell who?"

"The uh…maid staff. They'd like to know that what they found will get back to its rightful owner!" Again, her voice was a little too high to sound adequate.

Now Daniel was getting frustrated, "Listen, can you just tell me what it is I'll be coming to pick up?"

"I'm sorry sir, I have to go. Have a nice day!" There was a bit of panic in her voice now, obviously not expecting the question. The phone on the other side of the conversation clicked as it was hung up.

The man just sighed, a little agitated, and hung up the receiver. "Thanks Marilynn," he nodded in approval and headed back toward his daughter-in-law.

"Any time, Doc!" She called as he disappeared down the hall.

"Margaret, I gotta run to the hotel quick," he sat back down at the booth and finished what was left in his cup of coffee.

The blonde's brow ruffled a bit in question, "How come?"

"Seems I left something in the ball room the night of the party," Daniel shrugged.

"That could be. We left in a hurry."

Getting up again, the grandfather laughed, "Exactly what I said. But, I'm guessing I'll be back in at least an hour."

**The Pierre Hotel**

Daniel drove his Crestline up to the front of the Pierre and tossed the extra valet key to the kid that parked the cars. "Be careful with her Jesse!"

"Yes sir!" the high school senior replied with a jokingly sly smile.

Heading into the extravagant lobby of the hotel, the man headed straight for the front desk. There were only three ladies behind the counter now and they all knew of Daniel. "Hello Doctor!" Luci Chen, a beautiful young Asian girl, welcomed him brightly in her sweet accent.

"Hi Luci." Daniel greeted back, "I hear there's something I forgot about in the ball room?"

"Umm…yep!" Jenny, the girl that made the call in the first place, seemed a bit nervous. She was a horrible actress and didn't really sound all too convincing.

Tapping his fingers impatiently again, Daniel nodded. "Right, well can I go get whatever it is I'm here for?"

"Here, I unlock it for you." Luci got up and grabbed her keys from inside the desk drawer. She led the way up the flight of stairs, making small talk along the way. She was a very friendly, very chatty girl.

When the door was unlocked, she swung it open for him and smiled, "Just tell me when you done, okay? I lock up after you gone." She smiled and was off, walking as fast as she could in her tall heels.

"Uh…thank…you?" Daniel tried to tell the young lady, but she was gone before he had the chance. At Luci's quick escape, he was even more confused, and a little concerned as to what was going on. He shrugged it off though and passed through the large French doors. "Hello?" he called. The way people were acting, he almost thought maybe there was someone in the room waiting to pounce.

There wasn't a reply, and now there was no one to tell him _what_ he had forgotten, so the older Pierce man just started looking everywhere for something of his. He started at the front of the room, went by the tables, by the huge windows, and to the dance floor. Nothing he saw even _looked_ like anything of his. Scratching his head, he walked over to the bar and turned around to sit on one of the stools so he was looking out over the party room. He sighed, confused and a little frustrated.

Daniel must have jumped about a foot off his chair when he heard a familiar voice ask, "Looking for something?"

The man that _thought _he was alone, leaped off the barstool and spun around in surprise. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened when he saw who the owner of that voice was. For the first time in almost three years, he was looking at his son, in person. He was speechless. A wide grin spread across his face and tears of joy pricked at the back of his eyelids as he tried to speak, "How-? What-? You're… Are you-?"

Hawkeye tried to swallow the lump in his throat, "Hey Dad, long time no see." The young Pierce man's face also depicted the same, mile wide grin as he stepped out from behind the bar.

"It's nice to see you home in one piece, Hawkeye." The old man's eyes were filled with happy and relieved tears as he gave his son a big bear hug. Slapping him on the back, he laughed, "I'm guessing you're what I came in here to look for."

Hawkeye shrugged his shoulders and looked around with a big smile on his face, "Unless you left any other sons in here."

Daniel just laughed and hugged the young version of himself once more. He was so happy that the son he had been praying for (even if he wasn't at all religious), for the past three years was _finally _back in the states, but it just didn't seem real. "What…" he stuttered, "what are you doing here? How did you get out of Korea?"

"Colonel Potter fixed it so I had the points that I needed to get out of there. He didn't want me too far away from his honorary grandchildren." Hawkeye laughed in amusement to his father's reaction, "Of course, the other part to that was how he knew Margaret would need my help raising _two_ little Pierces at the same time."

Daniel just nodded, "Yeah, I could see that…" Again, he seemed speechless for a moment. "Well, however you got here, you're here! You're finally home!"

"Well, _close_ anyway." There were so many things he wanted to talk to his dad about, and nothing that Hawkeye did could slow down time any so he'd have more of an opportunity to. It was already about quarter to two…and his bus left at half past three. If only there were a few more hours in the day.

"Are you heading over to the hospital? Margaret would be so thrilled…and you could see your new babies." He shook his head in disbelief again, "I don't think it's really hit me yet that I'm a _grandfather_ or that my son's a _father_."

A sad look came in to the young man's expression, "As much as it's killing me, I'm waiting until you guys take the babies back to Crabapple Cove. I just want to make that day extra special for Margaret, you know? I hope I can get the house all set too." The love he felt for his wife, and already for his little son and daughter was evident in his eyes. "But…I was thinking that maybe we could discuss all this over lunch?"

His dad's smile grew even wider and his eyes sparkled with fun, "I'd like that. My treat!"

Hawkeye chuckled, "Good, 'cause after one night here and a bus ticket to Maine, I'm almost out of cash."

"So…summer job at the clinic again, Benjamin?" Daniel lightly elbowed his son in the ribs in fun.

He sighed, "Fine." The younger carbon copy of the other man may have been pretending that he dreaded the thought, but in all honesty, he couldn't wait for the opportunity.

**Later**

Before he and his son had gone to the diner around the corner, Daniel made sure to call Margaret from the front desk so she wouldn't be worried about something happening to him when he didn't return within the half hour. It took the girl's father-in-law all the restrain he had to not tell her about her husband being right next to him. But of course, Hawkeye was almost ready to tear the phone out of his dad's hand as well.

Now, they were both sitting in a booth at a little silver diner called 'Dine With a Dime'. It was a nice looking place so they decided to give it a try, and the food was excellent. Hawkeye was starving since the last thing he had eaten was a tiny bag of peanuts on the plane from California, and Daniel couldn't resist having a second lunch. The Pierce men both had cheeseburgers and milkshakes for their lunch and were eating ice cream sundaes for dessert as they talked.

Their conversation had gone from the 4077th to Crabapple Cove to Margaret and definitely to the new additions to the Pierce family. They talked and talked about _everything_. Hawkeye wanted to know all of the updates on his son and daughter and Daniel wanted to know everything about his son's trip back to the states. There was plenty of laughter, lots of reminiscing, and a bunch of planning. The mischievous father-son pair was able to get everything worked out and planned for that weekend when the babies would be going home.

Hawkeye looked at his watch and realized what time it was. They were having so much fun talking and planning, that time just slipped by and it was soon 3:15. "My bus for home leaves in fifteen minutes…" he pointed out.

Daniel nodded, "We should get you over to the bus stop…does it leave from the Pierre?"

"Yeah," the young man didn't realize just how hard it would be to leave his father, even for a short time and to go _home_ after being away for close to three years.

His father was going through the same thing. He knew he'd see his son again in about two days, but it had also been three _years_ since he had seen him last. Reluctantly, he got up and went to the counter to pay for their meals and then led the way back to the hotel.

They got Hawkeye checked out of his room and had a concierge help them carry all his luggage back down to the lobby, all in about ten minutes since he already had everything packed up and ready to go.

When the bus arrived, Hawkeye said his goodbyes to his dad, having to keep telling himself that it would only be a couple days until he saw him again with the rest of his family. But it was still hard. They hugged and joked and soon, Hawkeye was on his way to Maine. His heart just seemed to twist, knowing that Margaret and his twins were so close, but so far away for a while, and now he was just getting further away from them again. But in only two days, he'd see his wife again and hold his babies for the first time. In two days, he knew he'd feel much more like a father…and he couldn't wait.

**June 15, 1953 - 3:00 P.M. - Crabapple Cove, Maine**

That Saturday had finally come. For the past two, almost three days, Hawkeye had been working on getting his boyhood home ready for his growing family. He had arrived, happy as could be, in his hometown at about 10 o'clock on the night of the 12th and started working to get everything tidied up when he had been home for only about five minutes. The moment he stepped onto the porch, he officially declared himself a _former_ captain in the U.S. Army. He just wished that his favorite officer in that same army was there to celebrate with him. But, he'd see her in about an hour or so.

By now, everything was ready. The two banners that had been in Colonel Potter's office were hanging on the porch, the house had been dusted within an inch of its life, the floors had been either scrubbed or vacuumed, the nursery had been updated (complete with the new crib and blanket - courtesy of the 4077th), and the whole house was ready for children to grow up in once again.

Hawkeye had just received a call from his dad that said they were _almost_ to Portland, which was still an hour away from Crabapple Cove. They had left at around seven that morning, but had to make several stops so the babies could be either fed or changed. Other than that, they had pretty much just slept the entire time and were being very good. Daniel made the call from a pay phone at a rest stop so he could give Margaret a little privacy while she fed his grandkids. When they had had lunch, Daniel told his son that he would make a stop there anyway to tell him they were almost there, but this way it seemed more efficient and the phone call didn't seem as suspicious.

Soon after he got the call, Hawkeye went to his dad's room (where he was keeping all of his things until Margaret found out - then he'd just move his stuff into their room) and changed into his class A's. He grabbed the fake telegram that Klinger had made and carefully put it in his pocket. After making sure everything in the house was perfect, he went across the street to one of his closest childhood friend's houses, and waited for his family to get home. A wait like that seemed like forever.

The plans had been arranged with his friend before, but this was the first time that they had actually been able to really talk since the (now) former captain got home. They caught up and Hawkeye was having fun showing off the pictures of Allie and Mikey. Toby's wife, Amanda, just found out that they were going to have a baby of their own, so they were all talking about parenthood. In all honesty, Hawkeye was just as oblivious as the expecting parents were, so they were just talking about what they _thought_ it would be like.

Even though they were laughing and joking, time still seemed to drag on and on for Hawkeye. He was so excited to see Margaret again and to finally meet the new lives that he had a part in creating. When he thought that though, he felt pretty guilty since his wife was the one that had to go through all the pain. His part was really only a _small_ part, but he _did_ have part…

His smile had never been bigger than at that moment. "Think of an angel, and one shall appear!" Hawkeye's sudden outburst surprised his friend, but following his gaze, he quickly understood what was going on. Daniel had just pulled his car into the driveway and was getting out to open the garage door. His heart started racing when he saw his wife in the passenger seat. She was turned around and it looked like she was talking to her tiny son and daughter in the back seat. Her smile was from ear to ear, probably welcoming the little boy and girl to their new home.

A warm feeling passed through the father of those two little babies. He was so close to just getting up from where he sat on the couch and running across the street to open the car door for her. He was so close now that he could _see_ her beautiful face and when she got out of the car and reached into the back seat to get one of the babies, while Daniel got the other, he could _hear _her sweet voice cooing the little bundle in her arms.

Hawkeye watched as his wife and dad, both carrying one of the babies, made their way up to the porch. Margaret nodded toward the banners, her hands too occupied to point. "What are those?!" he could hear her ask in delight.

"Looks like the whole neighborhood knows." Daniel chuckled, playing along. The grandfather unlocked the door, careful to not drop the precious package he was carrying.

"Home sweet home!" The beautiful blonde's expression had a mixture of cheerfulness and relief that showed she was more than ready to be back home.

The door closed behind them, but soon Hawkeye's dad reappeared and started making trips back into the house, each time dropping off another suitcase or box, just inside the door. He had made about five trips and after the last one, he shut the garage door. On his way back to the porch, he waved across the street, knowing exactly what the plan was.

**1412 Rock Point Lane - The Pierce Home - Twenty Minutes Later**

"Daniel?" Margaret called down the steps as quietly as she could, a questioning tone in her voice.

"Yeah?" The man in question appeared at the foot of the stairs, already knowing what the following conversation would be like.

"There's another crib in the nursery…" she looked confused.

Daniel just laughed as he tried to think of something, "I had that arranged. Do the twins like their new room?"

A smile spread across her face, "Well…thanks Dad. And uh, yeah they love it. They fell asleep as soon as I laid them down."

"That's great!" He smiled proudly, "You coming down for something to eat?"

Margaret just looked back at the nursery, "I'm just gonna stay up here for awhile."

"Alright. Would you be okay by yourself if I went to get some groceries?"

Nodding, Margaret smiled, "I'll be fine dad. Go ahead."

"Anything special you'd like?"

"Not really, but don't forget to get some baby formula."

Daniel stopped her, "All under control. I'll be home in about an hour."

"Alright. Drive safe." When the door closed behind him, Margaret headed back into the nursery to fold some of the new baby clothes she bought in New York. After they were all put away, she made an interesting discovery. Sitting on the dresser, next to the other one, was a little quilt that looked a lot like the present that her nurses had given her on the last day she had been at the 4077th.

Before she had time to think about it though, the doorbell rang. Margaret stepped over toward the cribs to make sure her son and daughter were still asleep after the somewhat loud chimes had filled the air. Allie only stirred a bit and Mikey let out a tiny yawn, but they both went right back to sleep. The very protective mother didn't know if she should actually leave the two or not to see who was at the door, but decided they'd be okay.

After a couple steps down though, she felt like her whole world would turn upside down when she saw the brown fabric that was all too familiar to her. Her heart leapt up in her throat and she felt sick. She started to shake and she could feel the tears coming. "No…no…no…" Her voice was shaky as she whispered to herself, "No…no this was supposed to be a good day, this _can't_ be happening…" Her knees went weak as she took the steps slowly, clutching the railing.

The doorbell rang again and Margaret opened the door with a shaky hand. The man's face was hidden from the bill on his uniform hat, but she wasn't looking at his face. She was looking at the envelope in his hand. Those hands…they looked strangely familiar, but with what was happening, she couldn't think straight. "Can…can I help you?" her voice squeaked.

"Telegram," the man's voice was scratchy and low.

Her hand shook like a leaf as she grabbed the envelope and tried to open it. The man at the door watched, his stomach twisting in knots, starting to think that this really wasn't the right thing to do… His heart was pounding at the sight of the woman he loved more than anything else in the world, but he was close to regretting what he was doing.

When she finally got the letter opened, Margaret pulled out the paper and read the few words that were on it in the center of the page. _Roses are red, violets are blue / The last rose still lives, and I'm right here for you. ~Ben. _For about the sixth time today, she had no idea what was going on. It had been a very long ride from New York to Maine and she was tired and had had, what she thought would be a very traumatic event happen. "What…?" Tears filled her eyes, but she didn't know what _kind_ of tears they were, whether they were sad or happy or relieved or stressed or whatever.

The man in uniform brought his hand to her chin and lifted her head a bit so he could look into her beautiful eyes, "Margaret."

She gasped when she finally _saw_ the man in front of her. When she saw his eyes, his soft smile, his jet black hair under the hat. The happy and relieved tears flowed and a huge smile spread across her face. Her heart started racing, but not because she was afraid of hearing that her husband was dead, but because he was there. He was finally _there_. "Ben…?" She looked stunned and tried to catch her breath, "Ben!" Jumping up into her husband's arms, she hugged him tight, burying her face in his shoulder and sobbing happily, "Ben, you're home!"

Hawkeye had tears in his own eyes as he twirled his wife around, hugging her back and kissing her neck, "I love you. I love you so much." He couldn't stop whispering it in her ear.

Margaret pulled back a little, staying in her husband's arms, "I missed you so much." Her face was stained with tears, but she was still the most beautiful thing that Hawkeye had seen since she left Korea all those months ago.

"You look amazing." Her husband whispered, not really able to talk through all of the unshed tears he was trying to conceal.

She blushed and pulled at the shirt she was wearing, "You're too kind…need glasses maybe, but-" Hawkeye just laughed and shook his head. They gazed into each other's eyes for a moment before Hawkeye slowly leaned forward and kissed his wife's sweet lips for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. Their kiss grew more and more passionate until they both, a little reluctantly, pulled away at the same time. The two were breathless, a little dazed, and as happy as they could be to have each other again. Margaret reached up and wiped away a single tear that rolled down her husband's cheek. She smiled up at him before laying her head on his chest.

He kissed her hair, taking in the sweet scent of her shampoo. The same scent that got him through so many lonely nights when he was away from her. They stood on the porch for a few minutes in each other's arms, neither one of them ever wanting to let go of the other. Hawkeye kissed his wife's forehead quick before bending down and picking her up. She just squealed with happy laughter as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "Ben, what are you doing?"

"I never got to carry you over the threshold," his eyes sparkled mischievously as he turned sideways so he could safely get the mother of his children through the doorway. When he put her down, he couldn't resist any longer. He dipped her low like he had on several occasions at he 4077th and kissed her again, putting more love and care into the action than he ever had before.

Right when Margaret started deepening the kiss and running her fingers through her husband's soft hair, there was a little whimper from upstairs. They both stopped for a moment and laughed good-naturedly at the timing. "I think I'm being paged," Margaret spoke, her lips still against her husband's.

Standing back up, Hawkeye smiled with a mixture of nerves and joy, "I just heard my son…or my daughter…or…" he shook his head in disbelief, "I just heard one of _our kids_…"

Margaret smiled, taking her husband's hand, "Come on. I think it's time to meet your son and daughter."

"Are…" He stuttered nervously, the butterflies flying back into this stomach with a vengeance, "are you sure?"

"Of course I am." She squeezed Hawkeye's hand in an act of comfort, "I told them all about their wonderful, brave, amazing daddy. They're excited to meet you."

Not able to say anything over the lump in his throat, Hawkeye just nodded. This was quickly becoming the best day of his life. He had just reunited with the love of his life, and he was about to meet the miracles that had happened _because _of that love. He couldn't ask for anything more as he held his wife's hand and walked up the same stairs that he had climbed countless times before.

**Oh wow… I really hope you liked this chapter. I've had it planned for a **_**long**_** time. Hopefully you don't think Hawkeye's a big jerk now for the way he showed Margaret that he was home, but the idea came to be about a week after I started this story and I couldn't **_**not**_** use it. We'll probably hear **_**her**_** opinion on the way he showed up later as well. ;-) I also hope you liked the reunion between father and son. That one was a little more difficult. As for an update, that will probably be after HOBY (a leadership thing in Pella, Iowa that I was chosen to be the Okoboji Ambassador for) so after the 13****th**** of June at least or very most, however you look at it! Maybe I'll have an update before then…? Who knows! **

**I'd just like to thank Lissy as much as I can because if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have come this far in this story or any other I've written. She's helped me so much and I don't think I could ever really pay her back for all she's done for me. Thanks so much girly! (I wouldn't name a character of mine after just **_**anybody**_**! :-D )**

**Please tell me what you thought. I **_**really**_** want to know and it would mean the world to me! Thanks for reading, it means so much. I'm gonna start writing the next chapter right away! :-D**


	30. Happily Ever After

_Author's Note: I know it's been ages since I updated and I'm really sorry about that. I've just had a horrible time with this and lost interest and hope there for awhile. I want to finish this story, but I don't know if the end will be as 'good' as the rest of it. But…I just hope you like it. Thanks for all the great reviews though!_

**Chapter 30**

Hawkeye's heart beat faster and faster as he followed his beautiful wife up the stairs. Her hand felt soft and warm in his and it seemed like all the months he had been away from her were dissolving away as he was finally able to touch her again. Her hand gave him a feeling of comfort that only she could give.

As the second floor of the house came into view, the father that had yet to meet his little son and daughter, could see inside the nursery. The tiny redhead in the crib on the right was fussing and pulling at the blanket he was wrapped in. "Looks like your son's awake." Margaret smiled and stopped before they entered the room, taking her husband's face in her hands, "Don't worry, they love you already."

Hawkeye gazed into the room and nodded, butterflies still flying in his stomach, "Right."

The young mother gave the father of her children a quick kiss and smiled another reassuring smile, "Come on." Grabbing his hand, she gently pulled him into the nursery. Letting go when he was in the doorway, she went over to the crib and gently picked up her son, "What's the matter Mikey?" She kissed his little nose and checked to see if he needed his diaper changed. "You don't need changed and you couldn't be hungry again, could you?"

The little boy squirmed a little before snuggling against his mommy's chest and opening his big blue eyes to make sure it was her. He cooed a little and yawned as he closed his eyes yet again. Margaret smiled down at her little boy and turned around to face Hawkeye. Looking up, she saw him walk slowly over to them, cautious. He was smiling bigger than she'd ever seen him smile. "I think he just wanted some company." she chuckled quietly.

"Can you blame him?" Hawkeye winked and looked down toward his little son, his eyes filled with unshed, happy tears, "You must be the Michael Benjamin I've heard so much about." He ever so carefully touched the soft red hair on the little boys head and had to wipe his eyes with the back of his hand. "He's beautiful."

"Want to hold him, Daddy?" Margaret shifted the tiny baby to her left arm and stroked his soft cheek with the back of her finger.

"Uh…" he breathed in a shaky, nervous breath, "I don't know. He's so tiny…"

His wife nodded toward the chair, "Just sit down, you won't hurt him."

Hawkeye really did want to hold his son, but he was just scared of doing something wrong. He followed his wife's 'orders' though and sat down, taking off his dress uniform jacket first and draping it across the bottom of the changing table. "You sure you trust me?"

"Of course I do." Margaret kissed her little boy's forehead and whispered, "You trust your daddy, don't you?" He cooed a little, "That's what I thought." She knelt down in front of the chair that Hawkeye sat in and gently handed the bundle over.

The proud father was speechless. He was finally holding his son. _His_ son. It was still a phrase he couldn't get used to. Mikey must have noticed the transition and opened his eyes, inspecting the face of the new guy who was holding him at the moment. The tiny hand that was outside of the blanket reached up and squeezed the man's nose. Hawkeye laughed and lightly captured the little hand and kissed it, letting it wrap around his pinky. "Do you know who I am?"

Margaret watched with tears in her eyes as father and son were finally able to start bonding. She was just reaching up to wipe away the tears when Allie started fussing a little too. Getting up from where she still knelt in front of her husband, she went to pick up her little girl, still listening to the one sided conversation that 'her boys' were having.

Mikey had gurgled a little and his father just chuckled and nodded, "That's right." Not really able to talk through the lump in his throat though, he whispered the last bit, "I'm your daddy." Hawkeye couldn't stop smiling as he gazed into his little son's eyes. They really were his. The color was the same, the shape, everything. And the little nose was just like Margaret's.

Allie was still fussing, but like her brother, her diaper was dry and she had just been fed. A few minutes after Margaret picked her up though, she started calming down. _And so sibling rivalry begins…_ The mother chuckled, thinking maybe her daughter was just jealous of Mikey getting 'more' attention at the moment, even though they thought she was asleep and would be nice and let her. "Remember how I told you all about your daddy?" Margaret asked quietly, still by the crib. "Well, he's home. He's here now…" her voice caught up with the tears in her eyes, she was so happy to have her husband home…so relieved, "He's _here_. And he'd really like to meet you."

"…And I'm going to teach you how to ride your bike, and throw a baseball, and pick up girls in the cafeteria, and-" Hawkeye was still whispering to his son who was actually fast asleep when Margaret came back over, Allie bundled up in her arms.

"Please don't tell me you're going to teach him _everything _you know…" His wife tried to sound distressed, but she looked too happy to fit the feigned tone in her voice.

The raven haired father laughed, "I promise to keep the still-assembly tips secret until he's old enough."

Margaret's eyes sparkled the way they did whenever she was around the man she loved, "Good, but remember he doesn't have to be a little date machine in elementary school."

"Junior High?" he winked.

"We'll see." The blonde knelt down in front of him again and looked into her husband's eyes. They were soft and sparkling just as much as when he had first laid eyes on his son. "In the meantime, I think there's a beautiful little girl that would like to join in on the conversation."

Hawkeye's eyes were suspiciously moist as he nodded, his face depicting his overwhelming emotions coming from finally meeting his kids. "Y…yeah! Yeah, there's room."

Margaret couldn't help the amused smile that crept up on her face when she watched the man try to figure out how he would hold both of the babies at the same time. "It's really not that difficult." She teased him, "But I can take Mikey off your hands if you want some father-daughter time with Allie."

"That would work," Hawkeye smiled up at his wife and gave her a quick kiss before they switched bundles, trying their best to be as gentle as they could. Allie, however, had fallen back asleep while her parents were talking, but woke up again when her 'napping spot' had been switched out from under her. She started crying, but as soon as her father started rocking her and talking to her, she calmed down enough to open up those big blue eyes of hers.

"You are, by far, the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen." He couldn't stop smiling as he gazed down at his daughter. "And don't worry," Hawkeye lightly tapped the little nose, "that nose of yours may be just like mine, but it's cute as a button on you."

"It is on you, too." Margaret laughed at Hawkeye's remark as she laid Mikey back down in his crib since he had fallen asleep again. "I happen to like your nose."

"You're too kind," he flashed her his best cheeky grin. Looking back down at his daughter, Hawkeye tried to swallow the lump that had again taken it's seemingly normal place for the day. "I promise that I'll always be here for you, Allie. I'll take care of any scraped knees or elbows, teach you how to do all the things you'll need to know how to do, and protect you from anything that you need protecting from. You're my little girl and I know I'm going to want to keep you my little girl forever, even though I know you'll get bigger. Just, try not to grow up so fast, okay? I love you and your brother so much and there is nothing in this world that could ever change my mind. I'd do _anything_ for you two."

Within a few minutes, Alicia Danielle Pierce was fast asleep in her father's arms. The twins must have just been exhausted by the super long car trip. Hawkeye stood up from where he sat in the rocking chair in the corner and carefully walked over to the crib on the far side of the room. The one that was now Mikey's was the one that he had put together the day before and was the one closest to the door to the nursery.

He laid his daughter down in her crib and situated the blankets for her as best he could before tiptoeing over to Margaret. She was still folding baby clothes and situating them in the many drawers of the small dresser. He wrapped his arms around her middle and rested his chin on her shoulder. "You look tired," he whispered in her ear.

His warm breath gave her the same goose bumps that she so missed getting when he was gone. "Gee, why would I be tired?" she asked playfully.

"Why don't you go lay down? They're fast asleep, I can take care of them now," he winked. "Besides, I'm wide awake. For the first time in three years, I've been able to get three nights of about 9 hours of sleep."

Margaret turned around in her husband's arms and wrapped hers around his neck, "Be prepared to get a _lot_ less than that from now on."

"Exactly why I was sleeping so much." It felt so good to finally be able to hold each other again. "But I'd trade a lifetime's worth of sleep in order to be here with you and the twins." Noticing the tears in his wife's eyes, he smiled softly, "I love you more than you could ever realize, you know that right?"

She grinned through the tears and nodded ever so slightly before the happy sobs came out, burying her face into Hawkeye's shoulder. "I missed you so much…promise me you won't ever make me live without you again?"

"I never will," he promised with a whisper, rubbing her back and kissing her hair. "Never."

Margaret calmed down a little from her relieved sobs and was now back down to just happy tears again. Hawkeye pulled back a tiny bit and kissed the tears away that were running down her cheeks, "You really do look tired though. They're sleeping like…well, babies. Why don't you go lay down?"

She shook her head, "I have so much I have to do…unpack, clean, get this house ready for them… I thought I had more time before we left for New York so I don't have any of _that_ done-"

Hawkeye put a finger on her lips, "Shh…except for the unpacking, that's all taken care of." Noticing that Margaret's eyes were getting bigger with surprise, he decided to explain, "I've been here for a couple days. I wanted to get everything ready for your homecoming. Sleeping arrangements included." He nodded toward Mikey's crib.

"Oh _you're_ the one that did that." Margaret exclaimed quietly. She kind of figured either he or Daniel was responsible. "That's really sweet of you."

"It was the Colonel, actually. He gave me the money for it as a going away present." Hawkeye pointed out.

Margaret shook her head in a slight case of disbelief, "That's so sweet."

"Well, he said to use the money for a crib that would go with the one Dad found in the attic and then to use the rest of the money for whatever we needed. Maybe we could put it toward their college funds or something." He smiled his best sexy smile, "Or, the Colonel said that we could use it for a nice little getaway when you're feeling up to…you know." he winked.

The woman blushed, "Oh well…that…that would be kind of nice but…" it had been waaaay too long… "But I think we should put it toward they're college funds," she nodded. A curious look swept across her face, "How much did he give you?"

Hawkeye grinned and gently maneuvered Margaret out of the nursery and into the hallway before he replied. "He gave me an envelope with five American hundred dollar bills in it."

"What?!" she replied, a little stunned and louder than she meant to, at that point realizing why her husband had guided her out of the nursery. "He gave us five hundred dollars?"

"I told him I couldn't accept it, but he wouldn't take it back." Hawkeye shrugged, "So…I did what he suggested and bought the crib, but it was only fifty bucks."

"Well, I guess we could put $225 in each of their college funds then." Margaret smiled and shook her head with the same disbelief as she had earlier, "That man is going to spoil his honorary grandkids."

The younger man in front of her just laughed, "I'll show you the rest of the going away presents I got later." He took his wife's hand and guided her to their bedroom. "But first I really think you look like you could use a nap."

She sighed in defeat, "I have a lot of unpacking left though…"

"I'll take care of it. I promise. I'm not as much of a slob as you would think from seeing the Swamp."

"Alright," she nodded and followed her husband, laying down on the nice soft bed. It was so much more comfortable than the ones in the hospital, and the sigh that escaped from her said it all.

Hawkeye smiled when he heard her and went to lay down beside the beautiful woman. Wrapping her in his arms, he kissed her neck and took everything in, trying to make it all go slower by paying attention to _every _detail he had missed in the dreams he had had in Korea. Even the best dreams that he had were nothing compared to the real thing. "So much better than snuggling up to a pillow."

Margaret rolled over to face him and stroked his cheek as she spoke, "I don't think that 'custom pillow' I thought about making out of your measurements would have felt this good." She laughed, "I swear that was just one night of total desperation. There was a really big storm and I was scared and lonely and…missed your arms around me."

Hawkeye pulled her closer to him and kissed her as romantically as he could, "I had those nights too." He whispered through the happy lump in his throat, "I even slept with your hat under my chin every night so I could smell your shampoo…" Contemplating what he had just said, he asked, "Does that sound really pathetic?"

His wife shook her head and had to wipe another tear away, "Not at all…I could never get to sleep if your Groucho glasses weren't on the nightstand." It looked like she was thinking about something in the past, "And I don't know how many nights I fell asleep holding that picture you sent me."

They talked for awhile, neither one of them ever wanting to leave sight of the other, even if that just meant closing their eyes for a nap. Well, Margaret didn't want to close her eyes… Hawkeye wasn't really tired, but when she fell asleep he planned on going and unpacking all of Margaret's stuff for her. And that meant leaving the room for at least as long as it took to go to the basement, sort through the laundry, and get a load started in the washer.

When she finally did get to sleep, Hawkeye lightly kissed her cheek and started with his task. He rounded up all her dirty laundry, put it in the hamper, and hauled it down the flight of stairs. He had just opened the door to head down to the basement where the washing machine was, when the front door squeaked opened. Knowing who it was, Hawkeye set the hamper down and raced to the front of the house, "Hey Dad!"

Danielle was struggling to carry four paper bags full of groceries through the door. "Hey Son! Glad to see you're home! Mind giving your old man some help?" The younger carbon copy laughed and grabbed two of the bags and set them on the kitchen counter. They worked on putting everything away, talking and catching up while they did so. "So, I take it Margaret's up with the twins?"

"Well, everyone's asleep right now." An involuntary grin pulled at the edges of the former captain's mouth as he looked at his dad with the same sort of disbelieving look that Margaret had awhile before, "I can't believe those two little babies are really…_real_!" He had trouble forming the words that really suited what he was feeling, "I mean…I never thought…imagined…"

Daniel folded up the bag he had been emptying and put a fatherly hand on his son's back, "It takes awhile to get used to it. I still can't believe that my son has a son and a daughter of his own. I mean, when I see them, I instantly see you, especially in Allie, but…" he trailed off and now it was his turn to shake his head. "Have you held them yet?"

"Yeah," he nodded, the pride he felt evident in his eyes, "that had to be the best feeling in the world."

"After the nerves wore off?" Daniel added, his knowing eyes sparkling in fun.

"Exactly."

**Later**

The new parents were pretty much regretting their letting Allie and Mikey sleep all day. It was about three in the morning and the twins were wide awake and wanting all the attention they could get. Luckily, Margaret was awake for the most part as well seeing as how she had a long, very needed nap when her babies did. But Hawkeye was getting a little sleepy. Nothing he couldn't handle though. "You know," he looked up from where he sat in the rocking chair, rocking little Allie who refused to go to sleep, "I think those 38 hour shifts in the O.R. were probably the best training we could have got for this whole 24-hour parenting thing."

Margaret just laughed, "You're probably right." She was on the other side of the room with Michael. He had just started crying so she was trying everything she could to get him to settle down.

Hawkeye just watched his wife in amazement as Allie played with his shirt. Margaret was so good with the babies…so gentle and loving. She never stopped smiling at them and always had a twinkle in her eye that just showed how much she loved everything about her new job.

The lamp on the side-table kicked out just enough light to shine on the woman's hair. Hawkeye sighed, realizing that that site was another thing he had really missed… "So when are you going to grow out your hair so it's red again?" He smiled, thinking of how pretty she would look.

"You're kidding, right?" She threw him a playful glare. Being away from him for so long, she couldn't bring herself to give him an actual tough Major Houlihan scowl.

Hawkeye shook his head, "No. I'm not kidding Margaret, you'd look really pretty with red hair."

"Well, thanks…but I gave that up for a reason." Noticing the confused expression on her husband's face, she continued, "I got it from my dad…and I don't want _anything_ to do with him."

Hawkeye nodded, "I suppose I could understand that."

"I know I've told you before, but I've never been able to make that man proud of me. No matter what I do, he's always got something to be ashamed of me for. I've never been able to do anything right in his eyes." She shook her head, "It sounds so stupid, but I just can't bring myself to let my hair grow out again. I've thought about it before, but it feels like…if I do, I'll just be that 13 year old girl, crying herself to sleep every night because she worked so hard to try to get her dad to like her and he just shot her down yet again." Oddly enough, the smile returned to her face, "Wow…that felt really good to get off my chest."

"I'm sure," the man that had been listening to the short rant gently adjusted Allie so she was in his left arm and walked over toward his wife, wrapping his left arm around her waist and kissing her cheek. "Well, no matter what color your hair is, you are by far the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

Margaret leaned back into Hawkeye's chest and looked up toward his eyes, "Didn't you tell your daughter that earlier?"

"No," he shook his head, "I said she was the most beautiful _little girl_ I had ever seen. When she grows up to be a woman, which I hope takes a _long_ time…she'll be tied with her mother in that department." He moved his arm so he was still securely holding onto his daughter, but she was next to her brother. "And I think they are both the best looking babies I've ever seen."

"Well, what do you expect with a father like you." Margaret winked, "I think we have a little heartbreaker on our hands. This little boy is gonna grow up to be just as handsome as his daddy."

Hawkeye chuckled, "Make that two heartbreakers…can you imagine how many boys these eyes will attract?" He shuddered, "I'm gonna have to scare 'em off… I could give the same speech that I got in high school over and over again."

The mother started giggling as the two babies seemed to make faces at each other. "Maybe the only boy she'll care about for awhile is her little brother."

"Let's just hope they like each other and aren't at the other's throat all the time."

"Well, seeing as how they both have _both_ of our genes, that means they're already more stubborn than we are so… Yeah let's hope they don't kill each other by the time they can walk." The parents laughed at the thought of their sweet little babies being even _more_ stubborn than their parents.

Knowing what the other was thinking, they both laughed, "We're in for it."

Another hour had passed and the babies were _finally_ looking tired. They were fighting to keep their little eyelids from closing and when Margaret took the rocking chair, Mikey fell fast asleep. It worked perfectly so when she put her son to bed, Hawkeye sat down and Allie was soon asleep too.

"We did it…took awhile, but we _did_ do it." Hawkeye quipped as quietly as he could as he laid his tiny daughter in her crib.

"That we did." Margaret looked thrilled as she took her place in her husband's outstretched arms. "Now…" she whispered, "should we go try to get twenty minutes of sleep before they wake up again."

Yawning, he replied, "Sure." He switched the lamp off and grabbed his wife's hand.

They made their way through the short hallway, still trying to be as quiet as they could since they didn't want to wake up the babies _or_ Daniel. But when they got to their room, Margaret grabbed a nightgown out of the bottom dresser drawer and hurried to the bathroom. Hawkeye just changed into a pair of sweatpants and threw on and old tank top and jumped into bed, exhausted. He had already brushed his teeth and shaved at about one in the morning when he thought they were going to bed, but Allie and Mikey ended up having very different plans for their them.

It seemed like forever, but finally Margaret came out of the bathroom, dressed in the white nightgown that she had worn in Seoul back in December. Hawkeye's favorite. It had been plenty big for her then, but now it seemed to fit a little better. She looked beautiful. But…there was something about the look she had on her face.

"Margaret? You okay?" Hawkeye sat up on his side of the bed and pulled the covers down for her. It may have been June, but at night it still got plenty chilly in Maine and at least one blanket, along with the sheets, was necessary. She climbed in bed, not really meeting his worried gaze. Margaret slowly nodded, but the doctor wasn't all that convinced. "Honey, what's wrong? They're okay. The door's open and so is ours. We'll hear them."

"I know…it…it's not that." she shook her head and pulled the covers up to her.

"What is it?" He played with her hair, knowing it drove her wild when he did that.

She leaned into him and started crying a little, "I…I'm just really sorry you have to see me like this…"

"What?" Hawkeye replied, a little stunned by her reply. He had no idea what she meant.

"I was so skinny when you and I…well, you know. And now…I'm just…I was hoping it would leave when the baby…or I guess _babies_ were born, but…but it's like I still look pregnant even though now it's just _fat_ and…"

He could barely understand her since she was crying into his shoulder, but he got the main gist of what she was saying. "Honey," Hawkeye rubbed her arm and maneuvered her so she was in his lap, "I know what you're trying to say and you are _not_ fat. You can barely even tell you were pregnant."

"But you _can_…And I _am_ fat now. I'm still wearing my maternity clothes for heaven's sakes. I just figured that since this was big on me before than maybe it'd still fit…but it's too small now too…"

"What I meant was that you can tell because you have that glow to you, your eyes are sparkling like only a new mother's can, and your smile's a little bit different too. Happier. Maybe a little more caring even." He was trying everything he could to get that smile back on her face.

There was a small hint of it, "Yes but it's going to take me forever to get rid of the weight I gained." Hawkeye rolled his eyes, maybe a little to theatrically. "Well it _is_."

"Oh Honey, you look fine. Amazing. But…it's been forever since I could do this." He reached over and turned off the lamp on his nightstand and ever so carefully pushed his wife so she was laying back on the pillows. "Way too long." He started kissing her arms and made his way up to her neck, covering it with feather-light kisses. He made his way up to her jaw and then to her soft smile.

Her eyes were closed and she had goose bumps, "Ben…" she whispered.

"Yeah?" He replied, his lips pressed against hers.

She tangled her fingers in his hair as her breathing started to get heavier, "I can't do this yet…it's only been three weeks. I have to wait three more…remember, _Doctor_?"

Hawkeye gave his best sexy grin and Margaret instantly felt like her limbs had turned to jelly. "Just 'cause the roller coaster's closed, doesn't mean you have to shut down the whole amusement park."

"I'll buy that…" untangling one of her hands from his hair, she started rubbing her husband's back and kissing him back as best she could.

"God, it's good to be home." He whispered, his own breath coming a little heavier.

"Mhmm…" the woman replied with a small moan of pleasure, wishing they could go farther. "Ow!"

"What?!" Hawkeye immediately sat up, "I'm sorry. What happened?"

Margaret started laughing a little and shook her head, "No…Sweetheart, it's okay. It's just…I know that's one of your favorite parts and all…" she played up the best sly look she could, "But for now I think they're also kind of…Allie and Mikey's favorite too."

The father of the mentioned…milk fans…laughed whole-heartedly, "Sorry, I got carried away."

"Quite alright." Margaret laid back down and pulled at her husband's shirt, "Now where were we?"

"Oh, I think we were right about…." he started kissing her neck again, "here?" A soft laugh escaped when he felt her nod, ever so slightly.

The newly reunited couple had settled down a little and were now just cuddling under the blankets. "I think that nap's wearing off of _me_ now too…" Margaret yawned.

"You do look tired," Hawkeye whispered, caressing his wife's cheek.

"Gee thanks…"

"Let me rephrase that," he gave her a quick, soft, loving kiss, "Great, but tired."

The woman giggled a little, "Honey, you don't have to keep telling me 'I'm beautiful'… I was just teasing you. And besides, lying is bad."

Hawkeye sighed, "Oh I don't _have _to, but what's saying I don't _want_ to? And it's no lie." He rubbed her back methodically and could feel her relax. Of course, that just made him a little more than surprised when she sat up all of a sudden. "What's the matter now?" He tried to sound as compassionate as he could, but he couldn't help the slight exasperation in his voice. She was a little unpredictable anymore with all of her new mother hormones.

Margaret caught the frustrated lilt in her husband's tone and blushed. "I'm sorry, Ben. I must be driving you crazy…"

"No, it's okay." He sat up and put his arm around her shoulders. "What is it?"

"I just felt like I was falling asleep and I didn't want to…at all. I can't." Her whisper was getting even quieter as she tried to hide her silent tears as they fell down her cheeks.

"Margaret…"

"No, I…I want to tell you this…" she wiped her eyes and scooted around so she was face to face with her husband. "I'm just _scared_ to go to sleep right now. I mean, I know I'll hear Allie or Mikey if they start crying but…well, it's waking up that I'm sort of afraid to do right now." She shook her head, "It's irrational, I know…but I'm so afraid of waking up in Daniel's car on the way home from New York and…and finding out that today has all just been some sort of a dream. And you wouldn't really be _here_." Now her shoulders shook as she started crying harder, "I was so tired of waking up alone every morning and not having you here with me through all of this…and when I saw you today in person for the first time in months it was like…a dream come true. I'm just afraid that it was _too_ good to be true and that it's really not."

He could understand that…he could _really_ understand that. Since Potter had given him his discharge papers, he had been worried about waking up to find that it was all just a dream and he was actually still in the Swamp, lying on that uncomfortable slab of concrete he somehow called a cot.

Pulling the crying woman into his arms, Hawkeye gently rocked her back and forth, talking to her and trying to get her to realize that he really was there. "If this was a dream, would I be able to do this?" He leaned down and kissed her lips as gracefully as he could. Pulling back, he looked into her watery eyes.

She nodded, "I always dreamt that you were kissing me like that…of course," she placed a soft hand on his cheek, "it was never really _that_ good in my dreams. Not like that."

"So if I do it again, will that be enough proof that this is all real?" he winked.

Margaret shrugged, "We could see…" He kissed her again, the same way, but made it last even longer, better. When he finally pulled away, he looked his wife in the eyes again, waiting for her reply. "Well…I suppose it's possible that this is all real."

"It is," Hawkeye pushed a lock of golden hair behind her ears, "I promise you're awake. But you _do_ look very tired." He laid back down and held his arms out for her to lay into. "Come here." She laid down slowly, carefully. "When you wake up, for whatever reason or however many times, I'll still be holding you."

She was finally able to let out a quiet comfortable sigh, "I love you, Ben" and she was asleep.

"Love you too." Hawkeye leaned over and kissed her cheek.

After about an hour, he had yet to fall asleep. He was tired enough too, and knew he'd regret his inability to sleep when he had the chance, but it just wasn't coming. Something just kept nagging at him. Starting to get stiff from laying in the same position for the long length of time, he tried to shift around to get comfortable again. It wasn't working though since he felt like he had to keep his arms around his wife. He'd promised, after all.

Margaret _was_ fast asleep though, so Hawkeye decided he would be safe to get up for a moment. That nagging feeling was just making it so hard to get comfortable…even after finding a new position to lay in on the extremely comfortable bed. He gently pulled his arm out from under Margaret's neck and climbed out from under the sheets. Pulling on his red bathrobe, he padded his way to the hall. As soon as he stepped onto the creaking wood floor, he knew what the problem was.

It was one of those things that BJ had warned him about. How he'd get up several times a night, not really _needing_ too, but just sort of absentmindedly drifting toward the nursery to check on the baby, (or babies in this case). 'You'll think of plenty of reasons once you're in the room,' the mustached doctor had said through his big cheesy grin. 'To see if they're warm enough, to make sure they're not _too_ warm, to make sure they're still breathing… That's a big one. I ended up doing that a lot after we brought Erin home from the hospital. When she wasn't crying I was always worried something was wrong…'

Hawkeye had laughed at what his former bunkmate said at the time, but found himself doing exactly that. He tiptoed into the nursery and went over to the small table to turn on the dim lamp, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw the two tiny chests moving steadily up and down as the babies slept. Still trying to be as quiet as he could, the babies' father walked over to their cribs and very carefully touched each of their cheeks, a huge smile on his face. He just lost track of time as he watched their sweet faces.

Back in their bedroom though, Margaret woke up with a jolt, gasping for air. She sat up, calming down after realizing that what woke her up was only something that happened in a dream. "A dream?" she tried to say it out loud, but all she could get out was a defeated, choked squeak. "No…" she could feel the tears coming yet again. It couldn't have _all_ been a dream. It was too real. But then again…it could have been too good to be all real. Hugging her knees to her chest, she started crying. "I had even said it," she didn't talk to anyone in particular. Not even to herself really, "I said that I would just wake up from it all to find I was still riding in Daniel's car, coming home from New York, and-"

Wait…she wasn't in the car. She could have sworn she was awake, but she _wasn't_ in Daniel's car. She was on the white sheets, not the red and white leather bench seat in the Crestline. She desperately started thinking…hoping.

Margaret scooted to the side of the bed and slipped into her robe and slippers. Hawkeye had said he'd keep her in his arms, but maybe something happened where he had to let go for awhile. She walked over to the bathroom door and knocked. There was no reply, but then again it was dark under the door where the light would shine through to the moonlit bedroom. Feeling a little crushed, she tried to think of more ideas. Another popped up into mind, but she hoped it was wrong. What if something had happened? What if Allie or Mike had been crying and she hadn't heard them? Maybe Hawkeye finally woke up to their cries and went to find something horrible…? What, she couldn't and wouldn't want to think of, but there was the possibility.

With her heart racing, the worried mother bounded silently to the hallway to find the soft light in the nursery shining from the table. Taking two of the three needed steps as fast as she could, she realized in mid step what was going on. Her heart almost leapt out of her chest with relief when she stopped and leaned on the doorframe. Hawkeye was standing by the cribs, a look of pure pride on his face. Margaret could take an all to well known guess as to what he had gone to the nursery for, "Well," she whispered, "are they still breathing?"

The man slowly turned his head, almost reluctant to take his eyes off the precious bundles. "How did you know that's what I came in here for?" A curious smile faded out his tired eyes.

"Because I did that about a dozen times a night when they moved us to the Pediatric floor." Tip-toeing over to her husband, she almost started crying with relief as she was able to slip her arm through his. "Aren't they just so sweet when they're asleep?"

Hawkeye nodded, "That they are. When they're awake, too for now."

"Yeah, but unfortunately they won't stay this little forever. They'll grow up and won't want to cuddle anymore…"

The proud father moved his arm and put it around her waist, "Yeah well…if it makes you feel any better, I won't grow out of that."

"I'll keep that in mind, I guess." Trying to sound disappointed wasn't really working, "We're going to be like zombies tomorrow…"

"That sounds about right," Hawkeye nodded, suddenly feeling even more tired than before. "Should we try to get some more shut eye?"

Margaret shrugged, looking up at the clock, "Sure. We might have another hour or so."

"Sounds good." He held out his arm in the 'gentlemanly manor' and his wife slipped her arm through.

"Just please don't do that to me again though…" she didn't want to sound pathetic, but she was really scared there for a moment.

"Do wha-" Hawkeye had bent down and turned off the lamp while he spoke, but had realized what had happened. "Oh God…I'm sorry Margaret. I didn't even think…you were fast asleep and I… Oh no. I'm sorry Honey, I was getting stiff from laying in the same position and then I was worried about…and-"

"It's okay, Ben." his wife stopped him before he sent himself into a tizzy, "No harm no foul." She didn't want to make him feel even guiltier, telling him what she had gone through.

"Well, I promise…for real this time…that I won't get up until you do." He bent down to his wife's height and kissed her cheek. Margaret just smiled back at him and laid her head on his chest as they walked back to bed.

**July 9th, 1953**

"Hey, look what we got!" Hawkeye had just come in from getting the mail.

"What is it?" Margaret asked, scrutinizing the box her husband was carrying. She was sitting on the couch, giving Allie her bottle while Mikey squirmed beside her on his blanket, waiting patiently for his turn, a big grin on his face.

The man with the box looked excited, "Well, its return address is 'MASH 4077 - Ouijambu, South Korea'. Looks like a reverse care package." He laughed, "I thought the boys and girls at home were supposed to send 'em to the boys and girls overseas."

"Well open it!" Margaret's face matched her husband's.

Ripping through the tape, Hawkeye managed to open the package and dumped out the contents on the living room floor. "There must be about fifty letters in here." He smiled like a kid on Christmas morning as he separated the big pile into three smaller ones. One pile had all of the letters addressed to Margaret, another had the ones addressed to Hawkeye, and the letters in the middle were addressed to both of them. "Want me to read you one of yours, Honey?" He asked, noticing that his wife's hands were full.

"No, it's okay." She could see him eyeing one letter in particular that was in his pile, "Go ahead and read that one from BJ. I'll read mine later."

"You sure?" Margaret replied with a nod, so he grabbed the envelope with his best friend's writing on it and headed for the couch. "One arm, no waiting." He scooped up his little son and sat where he had been laying. "You wanna read daddy's letter with him?" The little boy just giggled his sweet baby laugh, "I thought you would. It's from your uncle BJ."

Margaret spoke to little Mikey, "Don't get any ideas from those two…especially when they're together. We don't need any more practical jokers in this house."

At that moment, Daniel came down the stairs, "What about practical jokers?"

The woman, now trying to burp Allie, chuckled, "I said we don't need anymore practical jokers in this house. Four just sounds like a nightmare." She shook her head in mock disapproval.

"You don't think Allie will be a practical joker?" Daniel teased, but his daughter-in-law must not have understood, so he explained a little further, "Me, your husband, your son, and obviously you!"

"Me?!" Margaret objected, "What on Earth are you talking about?" Her best acting skills were being put to the test yet again.

"Oatmeal in my boots…" Hawkeye reminded her.

"That was payback," she defended.

"That trick you pulled with me at the clinic when you switched Mrs. Lindy's and Mr. Omak's charts." The older Pierce man folded his arms and tapped his foot so he'd look mad. The smile was hard to hide though.

"Okay okay. So _five_ practical jokers will be a nightmare." Margaret couldn't _not_ take credit for all of those tricks she pulled.

Hawkeye shook his head, "Na, we'll be the most fun family in Crabapple Cove. As if we aren't already." He straightened up a little and was trying to go for the sophisticated, if not snobbish, look. Instead, as soon as he puffed out his chest and was about to say something, Mikey started giggling again. Going back to his normal self, Hawkeye nodded toward his son in his arms, "See what I mean?"

Daniel had been leaning on the doorjamb and was headed for the rocking chair in the corner of the room when he noticed the pile of letters on the floor. "What are all those?"

"Letters from hell." Hawkeye replied a little flatly. Margaret could understand what that tone meant though. It was the same one she had tried not to use, but ended up using anyway whenever someone asked her about Korea. There was guilt along with a tiny bit of, oddly enough, nostalgia.

"That was sure nice of them." Daniel could figure out his son pretty well too, even if he hadn't experienced what his son was feeling. "Looks like everyone must have written one."

"Yeah, I can't wait to read them. It's gonna take forever though." The woman smiled and looked over to her husband. "Sorry to break up your father-son bonding time, but I'm sure the little guy wants his bottle."

The babies' grandfather got up from where he was sitting, "I'll get the bottle ready for you."

"Are you sure?" Margaret asked, in the process of exchanging babies with Hawkeye.

"Well of course! Always ready to spoil the grandkids." He had a huge smile on his face as he made his way to the kitchen.

"Oh, Dad!" She called him back into the living room.

He returned with a white towel draped across his arm, looking like a French waiter, "Yes Miss Maggie?"

Going into worried mother mode, Margaret started rattling off instructions, "Remember to just put some formula in a bottle and run it under warm water. Don't heat it up on the stove or it'll get too hot."

"Don't worry. I've done this before." The grandpa gave a reassuring smile and headed back into the kitchen.

"How about you?" Hawkeye gazed down into those big blue eyes of his daughter's, "Wanna help read daddy's letter?" She just did what she normally did and started playing with the pocket on his shirt. "Well alrighty then," he laughed and started reading his friend's handwriting to himself.

_Dear Lucky Little So and So…ha-ha,_

_How's civilian life treating you so far? Are Allie and Mikey as cute as their pictures? Who am I kidding, of course they are! Probably cuter, right? How's Margaret? I'm sure she was thrilled to see you again. By the way, have you heard her opinion on how you showed up yet?_

Hawkeye thought about his buddy's last question, his stomach tying into knots as he remembered that moment. "Hey Margaret?"

"Yeah?" She replied, looking up from cooing her daughter.

"I meant to ask you…about how I uh…showed you I was home."

A big smile spread across the woman's face, "What about it?"

"Well, I was kinda thinking…I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't have done it that way. It was a little cruel."

"Cruel?!" Margaret questioned in a bit of honest shock, "How was that cruel? You turned my worst nightmare into my dream come true! Honey, that wasn't cruel, that was genius." She caressed her husband's cheek, "I never would have guessed it was you in that uniform. It was a complete surprise when I read that poem and looked up to see you. Other than when these little angels were born, I don't think I've ever had a happier moment in my life."

"Really?" he sighed with relief. Margaret nodded so he set his letter down and put his free arm around her shoulders, bringing her in for a gentle, romantic kiss. "I'm glad to hear it." he whispered against her lips.

Daniel had just walked in and cleared his throat a little awkwardly, "Order up." He laughed.

Hawkeye gave Margaret another quick kiss before releasing her and picking up his letter again while she went on to feed Mike. Daniel just went back to the kitchen, after an over exaggerated bow, and did the dishes from the night before.

_Well, enough with all these questions of mine. Sorry about all those. Life here at the 4-0-Double Natural is just about the same. I would have written you earlier, but we've been extremely busy since you left. We got a replacement surgeon for you, but for the last few weeks, there has been a steady stream of wounded. I guess everyone's trying to get in the last casualties before the war ends. I'm guessing you've been listening to the news? Well, it sounds like the peace talks are really heating up now, and everyone's hoping that something actually comes out of them this time. Erin's birthday is coming up and I'll be damned if I miss another one._

Hawkeye had been listening to the news every night, just waiting for that announcement… He hoped it would be soon. He couldn't wait until the day he could change the time on his watch so that all of his 'Army Buddies' could be in the same time zone. (Or at least within four hours). Still feeling a little guilty about being home when everyone else was overseas, he just couldn't bring himself to change his watch. Even if he _did_ still wear it every day…

_I realize you won't get this until after the 4__th__ of July, seeing as how it's been the 5__th__ here for a few minutes. But, I just thought I'd wish you a happy 4__th__ anyway. It's a little after midnight here and we all just got back from the beach at Inchon. We spent the day there and had a huge bonfire when it got dark. Klinger got a hold of some fireworks too so we set those off as well. It was a lot of fun and we all had a good time. On the bus ride back to the 4077__th__, however, things got a little intense._

_We were singing songs and having a great time, passing bottles of whisky around. Then we picked up some wounded soldiers about halfway through the trip. That was okay, except it got a little more hectic and crowded. The trouble started about five miles down the road from there though when we picked up some refugees and a couple more GI's. One of the GI's told us to get in the bushes and kill the engine since there was a group of North Koreans headed that way… We all had to be extremely quiet and everything. Well, right when the enemy soldiers were passing, this baby started crying. Thank God the mother got it quiet though or we all would have been dead meat. I don't think my heart has every started going that fast before. I was sure we were dead… But the North Koreans kept walking and after about a half an hour, we kept going._

Hawkeye sat the letter down, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Oh my God…"

"What?" Margaret asked, noticing the look on her husband's face.

"Read this paragraph." He pointed to it with his thumb and held it for his wife to see.

After a moment, her eyes opened wide, "Wow…" she whispered.

"Yeah." Hawkeye breathed. "At least they got out of it."

"No kidding." Still holding the bottle up for her son, she scooted over a little closer to Hawkeye and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Thank God you're home. I'd still be worried sick about you…"

Kissing her hair quick and taking in the wonderful scent of her shampoo, he kept reading what was left of the letter.

_Well, sorry this will be so short, but we're sending out the package tomorrow morning and Potter wanted these letters in the office by midnight. Oops! I'm sure he'll still take it. Tell Margaret I'm happy for her, being back home and all, and you enjoy your civilian life. (Don't worry about us, we're fine and the war can't go on much longer). Tell Allie and Mikey that their Uncle BJ can't wait to meet them._

_I'll talk to you later!_

_BJ_

_PS: I heard your flights went well from Peggy. Thanks again for taking Erin her gift! Sounds like she's really enjoying being a little doctor to her sick bears. And Peg was thrilled to finally be able to meet you._

Hawkeye smiled and folded the letter back up and stuck it in its envelope. "How are we going to reply to all of these?"

"Phone?" The blonde suggested. It _was_ the easiest route.

"That would work." Hawkeye laughed, carefully getting up with his daughter still in his arms, and grabbed another letter from his pile. "I suppose I should get to reading these others."

"Yeah, I'll read mine when we put these two down for a nap."

The younger man of the house took his seat on the couch again and put his arm around Margaret, his letter still in his hand. "You know…I'm really gonna miss this."

"What?" his wife looked around, raising an eyebrow.

"Dad's making me go to work next week." He tried to look like he was going to start pouting.

"Really? That's great!" Margaret was excited for her husband. "The clinic right?"

"Yep." He nodded, a smile on his face, "I honestly can't wait. I've been getting cabin fever. Plus I feel like a bum, being on such a long break."

Mikey refused any more of the baby formula so his mother was trying to burp him. When he did, she set him back down on her lap and gave him a kiss on the nose, "What a good boy!" She tickled his little belly until he giggled. Giggling herself, she looked back at her husband, "Well, a month of vacation to recuperate from three years in Korea…I think you deserved that."

"Oh, no question." He laughed, "I guess I just got my own little maternity leave."

"Paternity," she emphasized the P, playfully rolling her eyes. "You want to help me put these guys down for a nap?"

"Sure." Hawkeye moved his arm and picked up his little daughter and headed for the stairs. He kissed her tiny cheek, "You ready for a nap Allie-oop?" A huge yawn overtook her sweet face and she looked her daddy right in the eyes. Her eyelids kept drooping, but she kept trying to keep them open. "You won't miss much, don't worry." His heart melted and the same goofy grin he got whenever the twins did something cute like that, pulled at the edges of his mouth. "Let's get you to bed, sleepy one."

A little while later, the young parents were cuddled up together on the couch, reading some more of their letters. Most of Margaret's were from her nurses, but there were a few from other people as well. A couple were from the corpsmen, one from Colonel Potter, and one that really surprised her was from Emma Casey. She had already read the ones from her nurses. Most of them said the same things. They missed her, congratulations, their new head nurse was something else…_what_ they didn't know. Stuff like that.

The corpsman just wrote little notes. A lot of them had jokes and things that probably wouldn't have made her laugh when she was first in Korea, but really did now. Things about the regulations and how she would have a much better time now that Hawkeye didn't have any regulations to follow…as if he did anyway.

When she was done reading all of the short notes from the guys and 'her' girls, she moved on to Potter's letter. She decided to leave the one that might make her mad for later…

_Dear Major,_

_I'm so glad you and Pierce have finally reunited in the Cove. From what Hawkeye has told me, it's a beautiful place to be. I'm sure Alicia and Michael will love growing up there. And I can't wait to visit the ever growing Pierce household after this war is over. Well, that is if you _want_ us too! Or heck, everyone could come out to Missouri! Either way…but I guess we'll worry about that later, huh?_

_You know, this place just isn't the same anymore. Not only did you and Hawkeye leave, but now Radar's gone too. His uncle Ed passed away not too long after that big party in New York City. I think it was about a week after I sent Hawkeye stateside. So we all decided that he needed to get home so he could help out with the farm. His mother's a strong woman, but she wouldn't have been able to do it all by herself._

"Hawkeye." Margaret was laying with her head in his lap.

"Yeah?"

"Listen to this…" she read him the paragraph she had just read herself. "I just saw Ed not that long ago. He was dancing with the Winchesters and everything." A few sad tears were swimming around in her normally happy eyes.

"Oh wow…" Hawkeye just sort of shook his head in disbelief, "That's gotta be rough on Radar. His uncle Ed was like his dad."

"Yeah. He's home, but what a way to get there." she sighed, "But I can't believe he's not at the 4077th anymore… the colonel's right, that place must be like a totally different unit."

"It was a whole different unit when _you_ were the only one gone…" he ran his hand through her hair. "Everyone missed you like crazy, you know?"

Margaret smiled a little, "The feeling was mutual." She sighed, "I just can't believe Radar's back in Iowa…" After a minute, she read on…

_I can honestly say, Margaret, that when I heard you had two beautiful, healthy, babies I was prouder than a peacock. I have only felt that kind of pride once before in my life. When my grandson, Corey, was born. So, now I'm pretty sure I'll be able to really act as their other grandfather. I just hope I can compete with Daniel! He sounds like a great man. Someone who will definitely spoil their grandkids. All the better for Allie and Mikey, right? Haha! _

_But really Margaret, I'm proud of you too. You were, and still are, the best nurse I have ever scrubbed with. And just from the look on your face in that film that Peg sent us, I can tell that you will be one of the best mothers any little boy or girl could ask for. You're warm, caring, loving, and affectionate. The perfect qualities for any mother. Plus you were a Major in the United States Army! With Pierce's and your genetics…that might come in handy!_

Margaret had to reach up and wipe the tears off her cheeks. When she sniffed, Hawkeye looked down in concern, "Honey?"

"It's…it's nothing. The colonel just said he was proud of me…and…" She shrugged, "I hate these new emotions."

Hawkeye winked, "I don't mind them. You're so sweet anymore. I don't have to worry about being chewed out or anything."

His wife just rolled her eyes, "Yeah, gimme a reason to blow up at you, and you'll be sorry you said that."

"I could believe that…" He pretended to be scared as he went back to reading the letter in his hand. From the handwriting that was visible from the back, it looked like maybe it was from Klinger.

Margaret just reached up and patted her husband's shoulder, reading again.

_Hawkeye's replacement got here shortly after he left and I gotta say, he makes me miss your husband all the more. It's a man by the name of Hersley… He's a good surgeon and all, but a little too much like Winchester when he first got here. He gets the job done, but it takes him about four times longer than it would have with Hawkeye. And get this, Winchester doesn't even like him! He and Hunnicutt have been pulling prank after prank on him since he got here! In O.R., in the mess tent, in Post Op, at the Swamp, everything! It sure does seem bizarre though, seeing Charles and BJ actually team up to do anything. Like I said…this is a totally different place._

_Well, I hate to say this, but I have to go. We've been holding refugees and POW's in the compound and it sounds like there might be a problem. Hope I hear from you soon, but I know how busy you can be with a new little one around. Can't imagine two!_

_Sincerely,_

_Sherman_

Margaret shook her head, trying to picture the 'new' 4077th. It wasn't an easy task. Folding up the letter and tossing it to her 'read' pile at her feet, she got up and grabbed another one. Laying back down, she opened the envelope, noticing the familiar handwriting. She had seen it many times before. All those years ago in New York City… It had been on the notes she had passed around in class. The elegant swirls on the paper belonged to none other than that mousy faced brat. Emma Casey. The woman who, at one time, had been her best friend.

_Dear Mrs. Pierce,_

_I can't tell you how sorry I am for how I acted all those years. You really would have made a great Ado Annie. You worked so hard for that part and it's a shame you never got to do the play. I know it was hard enough on you without me giving you so much guff for it. It wasn't your fault and I shouldn't have made you feel like it was. I can't believe I let myself lose my best friend. _

_Of course, I'd also like to apologize for my actions here at the 4077__th__. I was jealous because you got the absolutely gorgeous husband that I'd always dreamed about. I'm sorry I kept trying to steal him from you. I was just being childish, like I was all those years ago. But, you really do have a wonderful husband. Whenever I tried flirting with him, he never gave in. He was polite, probably trying not to hurt my feelings, but I could tell by the look on his face that he missed you very much._

_I hope you know how sorry I am… But congratulations on your beautiful babies. And I'm very happy for you, finally being reunited with Dr. Pierce again. _

_Sincerely,_

_Emma Casey_

She couldn't believe what she had just read. Whether or not she could believe _Emma_, she didn't know. But as far as she could tell, the writer of that letter _did_ sound sorry. But even after all her contemplating, Margaret had no idea what to think. The new head nurse at the MASH unit had really hurt her when they were supposedly best friends. For the time being though, she just shrugged it off and threw the letter in the pile.

**That Night**

The two former residents of the 4077th had just got off the phone with their friends in Korea. They had, amazingly, been able to talk to them for quite awhile. Of course, it had taken a long time to put the call through since the 4077th had once again bugged out. Evidently there had been a big forest fire in the hills of Ouijambu, started by all the shelling. But, in order to reply to all of the letters, Hawkeye and Margaret were able to talk to most everyone. Those that they didn't get to talk to though were just sent messages through everyone else.

Margaret even talked to Emma…and _really _couldn't believe what she had heard then. She had apologized and congratulated her like she had in the letter, but she even started crying a little too. The two women made up, but Margaret's years of not being able to trust people kicked in and she didn't really know if she could trust her or not. But, soon the wounded came in to the makeshift compound and they all had to go.

It was good timing though since both Allie and Mikey had started crying. The babies' parents had put them down for the night about two hours before, but they wanted their attention again. Margaret was laying in bed, feeling pretty fatigued from the night before. 'Go back to sleep guys…' she tried sending telepathic messages, but knew it wouldn't work.

"I think they're hungry." Hawkeye carried his kids into their bedroom.

Margaret sat up, stretching and yawning, "Thanks Honey."

"No problem." His eyes looked tired, but still very happy. "Here you go Mikey. A spot at the bar." He gave a mischievous grin toward his wife as he gently set his son down on her lap. Going to the other side of the bed, he sat down with his daughter in his arms, "I guess we'll just wait for a table, huh?" Mike had settle down, but the little girl was still crying. Hawkeye was trying everything he could though to keep her happy until she could be fed.

"They sure are growing, aren't they?" Their mother sighed.

"Yeah they are. I can barely blink anymore or I'll miss something." Allie started sucking on his finger, causing him to laugh. "Isn't that right, Allie-oop?"

After awhile, Mikey was full so they switched. "Okay Allie, here you go." Margaret smiled down at her little girl. "You were hungry, weren't you?"

Hawkeye was talking to his son, tickling his little tummy, making him giggle and squeal, a big grin on his face.

The boy's mother watched for awhile, laughing herself. Looking back down toward her daughter, she ran a hand through her daughter's soft black hair. "Look at this, Ben…"

"What?" He asked, a big smile still on his face.

"Look at this hair. It's probably about an inch long already."

"She's Italian." Hawkeye shrugged, "It'll be down to her shoulders by Christmas." The parents just laughed and kept cooing over their kids. When they were both fed and had their diapers changed, the two babies were laid back down for, supposedly, the rest of the night. Of course, their parents knew that wouldn't really happen.

Later, when it was dark and the two were in bed, Margaret scooted over and laid her head on her husband's chest, "You know what I just thought of?"

"What's that?" Hawkeye replied, rubbing her back.

"The twins are six weeks old today." She winked, stroking her husband's cheek.

"They are, aren't they?" A huge, playful grin spread across his face, "So what do you want to do? You look kinda tired…"

"Like hell I'm too tired." Her grin matched her husband's as he turned over, trapping her under his lean frame, kissing her passionately. And one thing lead to another…

After awhile and a time that neither of them would soon forget, Hawkeye put his arm around his wife's waist and scooted her closer to him. "I really missed that," he whispered.

Margaret tried her best to look into his eyes from over her shoulder, but it didn't work all too well. She gave up and laid her head back on the pillow, "Me too."

"So? Was it any better after having to wait so long." He started kissing her neck again.

His breath on her neck was driving her wild. She just nodded, trying to keep herself under control.

Knowing what was going on, Hawkeye laid off and just ran his hand through her silky smooth hair. "I love you."

Margaret turned around and snuggled into his bare chest, "I love you too."

**July 25th - 11:30 PM**

"Margaret." Hawkeye poked his wife's shoulder. "Margaret, wake up!" He had just ran up from the living room as fast as he could, while also trying to be as quiet as he could. Not that easy of a task in such an old house.

"What's the matter?" She was still a little groggy since she had gone to bed right after putting the babies down for the night.

"They're talking about the Peace Talks on the radio. It sounds big!" The former chief surgeon was obviously excited.

She was wide awake now. "Really?!" Springing out of bed, she grabbed her robe and beat her husband in the race downstairs.

The lights in the living room were off, but the whole room seemed to be illuminated by the dim greenish yellow light on the radio that lit up the dials and the 'Silvertone' logo. Margaret took a seat on the couch and Hawkeye turned the volume up before joining her.

"_This is Robert Pierpoint in Seoul I've just returned from outside the newly built conference hall in Panmunjom. The hall is a symbol of the renewed hope for peace. It is almost finished and you can still smell the greenness of the wood. Two years of constant disappointment has made skeptics of us all. However the words from Panmunjom today is that an armistice agreement may be reached at almost any hour._"

The two on the couch listened intently, their hearts pounding in anticipation.

"_While one of the bloodiest battles of the war wages on, it seems peace is finally within our grasp. Final preparations are being made for the Armistice Agreement and Truce talks still haven't been completed. But after a week of secret sessions in Panmunjom they have announced that they will make preparations for signing the Armistice Agreement._

_There is certainly some distance to go in these negotiations, but for the first time in over three years the end of this bloody road that we've traveled is only steps away. This is Robert Pierpoint in Seoul._"

Hawkeye sighed, "Damn. I thought they were just gonna announce that the war was over…"

Margaret shook her head, smiling, "No but this is huge! An armistice! A _peace_ treaty…finally!"

"Well, I thought you might like to hear that. They said they were going to patch in to the Armed Forces Radio Network so…" He shrugged, looking down at his watch, "Who knows, I might be able to change this soon."

"Wouldn't that be wonderful? Everyone could be back in the states and with their families. Peg would have BJ back, Mildred would have the colonel. Klinger and that girl he kept talking about on the phone could leave for Toledo…Winchester would be back with his parents and Honoria. Father Mulcahy could go back to the CYO like he talked about! Oh it would be great, wouldn't it?" She sighed, leaning back into Hawkeye's arms.

Her husband laughed a little at how breathless she seemed from her ranting. He put his arms around her and kissed her hair, "What do you say we go for a little walk on the beach? There's a full moon, plenty of light."

"What about Allie and Mike?"

"Dad'll hear them if they wake up. But they were sound asleep when I checked on them last."

Margaret looked down at her robe, "Ben, I'm not dressed for it…" She looked apologetic…and very tired.

"Alright." Hawkeye nodded and stood up, "We'll go for a moonlit stroll some other time." He held his hand out, "Madam." His wife grabbed hold and stood up beside him, hugging him around the middle.

"Can you believe it's almost over?"

It was silent for a moment as they made their way up the stairs. Finally, he replied, "Nope, but I'm sure glad it will be soon."

**The Next Night - 9:00 PM**

Because of the news the night before, Margaret could hardly get back to sleep after they went to bed. She was tired, but too anxious. So, tonight instead of going to bed first, she decided to stay up with Hawkeye and listen to the regular news. The babies were asleep, so she took the time to read the paper while they waited for the announcer to come through the radio waves. Something she hadn't done in a long time. "Hey, they have an article in here about Robert Pierpoint's announcement last night."

"Really?" Hawkeye walked over to the rocking chair she was sitting in and read over her shoulder. "See, I told you it was big news." Kissing her cheek, he retook his spot on the couch.

"Yeah, uh-hu…that's why you were Mr. Grumpy Man afterwards because they didn't just announce the end of the war."

He just hid behind his book, "These things take time…"

The woman in the chair rolled her eyes and jumped when the soft music that was playing turned to the loud Nine O'clock News theme. "_Good evening_," the announcer greeted in his low, fake tone, "_this is the Nine O'clock News and instead of starting off with the stories we had planned, we will be patching through again to the Armed Forces Radio Network for their coverage on the Peace Talks in Korea. Robert Pierpoint has tonight's top story."_

Margaret set her paper down and joined Hawkeye on the couch. She felt too anxious to sit by herself. Her husband must have felt the same way since he had already closed his book and set it on the side table. "What do you suppose is going on?"

"I don't know, but I hope they'll just announce it already…" He pulled his wife tight to him. He could feel her heart beating through her chest and figured she could probably feel his too.

"_This is Robert Pierpoint in Panmunjom, right outside the conference hall where the Armistice has just been signed. Now, if my sources are correct, the hostilities have been set to end 12 hours from now at ten o'clock this evening. This three year war is now in its final hours. I repeat, the armistice has been signed at exactly 10:01 this morning, thus ending this, the Korean War._" There was relief in Pierpoint's voice as he uttered the final words of his announcement. And that relief was spreading.

"It's over!" Margaret squealed, trying not to wake the twins. "It's over! The war is _over_!" She bounced up, pulling her slightly dazed husband up with her. "It's over, Honey! It's over!"

Finally, the man's face changed and broke in to a huge smile, "It really is, isn't it? Well, _almost_ anyway, but it's over!" He took his wife's hands and started twirling her around the living room.

"What's going on in here?" Daniel asked, coming from the den.

"It's over dad!" Hawkeye smiled, letting go of Margaret for the time being and grabbing his dad's hands, making him do a little dance too.

Daniel just gaped, "It is?! That's great!"

They celebrated quietly, but if they could have, they'd be screaming it at the top of their lungs. They were so relieved for their friends, still in Korea. Now _everyone _would finally be able to go home.

**July 27th - 1:00 AM**

Although they had been celebrating the good news as quietly as they could, it must have been loud enough to wake up the twins. Margaret had gone up to take care of them, but Daniel snagged Hawkeye to get some help with the gobs of paperwork he had, piling up from the clinic. They had been working on it for about five hours, but they were no where near done. Of course, Daniel had really brought it all on himself since Margaret was the only one who ever seemed to get it done on time…and she hadn't been working in the clinic since before the babies were born. So now, they were just trying to catch up on about eight weeks of work in the small den that the father and son shared for the purpose at hand.

"You know," the younger Piece man set his pen down and shook his hand, "I wasn't working at the clinic for most of this. Why am I doing any of it?"

Daniel laughed, "Because not only am I still your boss, but I'm also your father. So in that case, because I said so." He looked up and winked.

"I wouldn't ever do this to Alicia or Michael," Hawkeye pouted. In reality though, he didn't mind spending the time with his dad. They had been talking all night about things they hadn't been able to tell each other yet. Mostly because Hawkeye was always with his wife and kids anymore. He loved that, he just sort of missed the time with his dad.

"Wait 'till they're teenagers," the more experienced father retorted, a smile on his lips

They had started talking again, but before long, Daniel put his finger to his lip and listened to the radio, "Hey Hawk…turn it up a little, it sounds like that Pierpoint guy."

This time, he didn't really have a problem with being 'ordered around' and went up to the radio.

"_It is now 2:00pm. In exactly eight hours the Korean War will be officially over. It is a time for summing up and these are the most up-to-date figures we have: Cost of the war to the United States has been placed at twenty-two billion dollars._

"_In human terms, the cost was much greater. The UN forces have suffered the following casualties: Killed in combat - 71,500; Missing or captured - 83,263; Wounded - 250,000..._

"_On the communist side 1,347,000 people were killed or wounded. There were also killed 400,000 Korean civilians_...

"_If you add it all up, it comes to more than two million people killed or wounded_.

"_In addition one-forth of all Korean nationals are homeless and one hundred thousand are orphans…_"

"And for what…?" The reporter went on, but the Korean war veteran questioned the statistics bitterly. "It was all just a horrible waste," he shook his head, taking his seat back at the desk across form his dad.

"Oh not a _total_ waste." Daniel pointed up. "What about Margaret and the twins? They wouldn't have happened if the war hadn't."

Hawkeye nodded, "Okay, so three good things came out of the war…"

**6:00 AM**

Margaret woke up to a baby crying. For once, there was just one and she could tell it was her daughter. Hawkeye had rolled over, but since he had been up all night and had just gone to bed a few hours ago, she let him sleep. Not even bothering with her robe, she stumbled into the nursery and turned on the lamp. "Shhh…what's the matter baby girl?" She whispered and reached into the crib to pick up the crying baby. Looking over to make sure Michael was still asleep, she grabbed the girl's '4077th Original' baby blanket and wrapped her up, heading for the stairs.

Hawkeye had told her that they kept having bulletins on the radio when he had crawled in bed and accidentally woke her up. So, she was curious and figured if there weren't any, the music might lull her daughter back to sleep after she was fed.

On her way to the rocking chair, Margaret turned on the radio and tuned it so the channel she needed came in as clear as it could. At the moment, there was just soft music playing so she sat down and pulled up her shirt for her hungry daughter. "Remember me telling you about Korea?" She whispered, softly playing with the girl's fine hair, "Well that war is over and all of your mommy and daddy's friends are going to be with their own families soon. Isn't that great?" Allie just stretched her tiny legs out a little and closed her eyes. Margaret smiled down in motherly pride and laid her head back, singing softly to the melodies on the radio.

She had almost dozed off when a man's voice quietly filled the room. It was the voice of the reporter, just rattling off another bulletin. "_President Eisenhower says he's going to ask for an emergency relief fund of two million dollars to help build up the war torn Korean economy. Another two hundred million may be allocated to the reinforcement of the Vietnam Army in its war against Communism in South East Asia. It is now three hours before the cessation of hostilities._"

The woman just sighed, "Another war." Looking down at her daughter, she whispered, "I hope in your life time you'll see a day where there are no more wars. It's not fair to have to live through this kind of thing. I hope they find a way to have peace in the world when you're older. Or very soon would be nice too." She kissed her finger and gently stroked the girls cheek.

When Allie was done, her mother burped her and just rocked her for awhile before taking her back up to bed. Having twins was much more difficult than she could have expected when she first found out _why_ she was still having pains. Sure she had plenty of help from Hawkeye and Daniel, but there was the fact that she had so little time to just bond with one or the other. She was always afraid of giving one more attention… So, to try and make amends, she stroked her son's back for awhile before going back to bed herself.

*** * * * * * * * ***

At about seven o'clock, Mikey was ready for _his _breakfast so instead of going back to sleep after he was done, the tired mother just got up and hour early and made cinnamon rolls from her grandmother's recipe. They took forever to make and it wasn't often anymore that she had time _to_ make them. But they were delicious and the perfect start to a pretty important day.

"Those were amazing Honey." Hawkeye had pretty much scraped his plate clean with his fork, wanting every last glob of the wonderful frosting.

"I'm glad you liked them." The chef smiled, taking the last bite of hers. They _were_ pretty good, if she did say so herself.

"Here, I'll take care of these." Hawkeye grabbed his plate and the empty serving dish in the middle of the table, along with the silverware.

Margaret turned around and looked at the clock, "Don't you have to go to work soon? It's already a quarter to nine."

"Nope." He shook his head, "Before he left, Dad told me to stay here until they announced the cease fire. He thought we should be together for the big moment."

"Well that was nice of him." Getting up from her place at the table, she passed her plate and silverware to her husband who was already filling the sink with soapy water. "I'll dry."

"Thanks." He gave her a quick peck on the lips as he artfully spun around and grabbed a dish rag. Or at least tried.

He ended up stumbling a little and sending Margaret into a fit of hysterics. "Smooth. Very smooth," she teased him. Drying the first plate he washed, the nurse asked, very 'professionally', "So how many cases do you have today, Doctor Pierce?"

"Well, Nurse Pierce, I think today will be a slow day. One or two camp physicals, an athletic physical, and seeing as how the summer break is about half over, we'll probably get a few of the little neighborhood boys in with broken bones. Stinky and I used to try to get the most out of our summers when they were coming to an end…one of us always ended up hurt."

Margaret just rolled her eyes, "And you're not going to tell Mike about that, right? I don't want him getting hurt."

"Scouts honor." He gave a soapy Boys Scout solute, "But you know he _will_ get bumps and bruises from just being a boy, right?"

"Oh of course I do. I _was_ one of the boys when I was little. The girls on the military bases were too…girly. No, I know he'll get skinned knees and elbows, but broken bones just give me the willies. Especially those compound fractures we used to work on." She shuddered and then remembered the time, "Hold on." She turned the small kitchen radio on and went back to where she was.

There were only about sixty seconds left of the fighting and shell fire could be heard over the radio. It gave the two people in the kitchen goose bumps. They both held their breaths as the words they had been waiting so long to hear, finally were spoken.

"_This is Robert Pierpoint speaking to you from Panmunjom. One minute before ten p.m. and you can still hear the sound of nearby artillery. At some point during the next few seconds the guns should go silent as the cease-fire officially goes into effect_…" There was more shelling and then it just stopped, leaving an eerie silence, "_There it is. The sound of peace._"

They both exhaled at the same time, relieved looks on their faces. A few happy tears rolled down Margaret's and Hawkeye's eyes were pretty moist as he dried off his hands. "It's all over now…" he smiled and hugged his wife who was laughing her relieved laugh.

"It's over!" she squealed again as the gorgeous man who held her in his arms picked her up and spun her around in excitement. When he set her down, she looked over toward the radio. It was still silent. Looking up into those piercing blue eyes, she smiled, "I think I could really get used to the sound of peace."

Hawkeye nodded, "So could I." He dipped the beautiful woman low and kissed her with as much passion as he could muster. But, just when Margaret started kissing him back, there was a small cry from upstairs. Lifting his head a little, he chuckled, "Déjà vu."

The man's wife was still being dipped, "Why don't you go see what they want and I'll get the camera. I really want a picture of the three of you. I think today would be a good day to do it."

"That I could do." He straightened them both back up and kissed Margaret's cheek again quick before heading up the stairs. The twins' father was able to make them happy enough to stop crying for awhile by making silly faces at them and tickling their little feet while they were still in their cribs. They giggled as their daddy scooped them both up and sat in the pale green rocking chair in the corner of the nursery.

Before Margaret brought the camera, a gift from Daniel, into the nursery, Hawkeye gave his kids a promise he hoped, very much, to keep. "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you guys were born. And I'm sorry I wasn't there for the first few weeks of your life either… But from now on, I will never miss out on _any _part of your lives. I promise." He carefully kissed their small noses, making them giggle even more. "You're stuck with me."

"And we're all _very_ happy about that." Margaret had been leaning against the doorframe, listening to Hawkeye's promise with happy tears in her eyes. She raised the camera and got everything focused. "Okay, say cheese everyone."

"Say cheese, guys!" Hawkeye lifted up the babies a little so they could be better seen by the camera and smiled. That same smile that had been on Margaret's mind since she left for that first trip to Tokyo after the passionate night in the hut. The smile that proved he was in love…not only with _her_ now, but also with his beautiful son and daughter.

**The End**

* * *

**Well, I REALLY hope you liked this 'Goodbye Farewell and Amen' of Missing Out. I hope it wasn't too long for you and that you don't mind how I modified things from the actual show… I really did modify a LOT. I just hope you all liked it! :-D**

**A few things do need explaining though. The whole 'Just 'cause the roller coaster's closed, doesn't mean you have to shut down the whole amusement park.' thing is actually one of Ron White's jokes. I just thought it would fit pretty good where it was in this story. Haha. Also, the Robert Pierpoint radio announcements are the ones that were on M*A*S*H. I'm sure there were probably different versions of them on the radio that night, but those were the only ones I could find online. **

**But, other than that… I hope you liked it and I can't wait to hear what you thought. Special thanks go out to Lissy for ALL of her help! And Bev of course! Also, to anyone who has ever left a review or just read my story. :-D**

**Thanks for reading! And if I don't reply to your reviews right away, just know that I will! I'm going to be gone for three weeks with no internet so… When I get back though!**

**PS: I've left this story open for a sequel. So, we'll see what happens. Maybe? Okay...REVIEW TIME!**


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